In anticipation of state and federal budget cuts, the Seattle City Council started the 2012-2013 budgeting process early this month, debuting “Community Conversations,” a series of discussions on the City’s priorities.
These pilot conversations are held in the “world café” format, with smaller groups in a facilitated meeting format, discussing five pre-scripted questions. Participants spend ten minutes involved in conversation at a table, then move on to the next table and the next question as the evening progresses. At the end of the session, the facilitators from each table present the common themes and ideas culled from each session.
We met at Meadowbrook Community Center on May 3rd to discuss parks & recreation, and this past week we met at Delridge Community Center for conversations on public safety. Our third and final gathering in this series will be next Tuesday, May 31st, at Van Asselt Community Center. The human services budget will be discussed from 6:00-8:00pm.
If you can’t make it to the meeting, or if you’d like to provide feedback on any of the three budgets we’ve discussed over the Community Conversation series, please send your thoughts via email to jean.godden@seattle.gov.