Neighborhood advocate: public comment open as Marion County budget heads to October hearings

Delia Novak, a mayor's neighborhood advocate for southeast Marion County, urged residents to weigh in on department funding while individual council committees review agency budgets. "The council is expected to have a public hearing on the full budget on October 5," Novak said, adding full adoption is expected later in October.

The advocate described committee review between mid-August and mid-October and said budget presentations are available online and streamed from the City County Building. Novak encouraged neighbors to contact their council representatives about priorities for parks, planning, police and fire before the council's final vote; she noted committee hearings are the appropriate venue for line-item questions and public testimony.