The exact dates have yet to be announced but folks won't need to travel too far to participate in the Municipality of North Cowichan's budget talks come the New Year.
Council is well into its budget deliberations but hasn't lost sight of the community's ongoing desire to engage. Council, therefore, has decided to host four town hall meetings in late January: one in each of the Mount Prevost area, Maple Bay, Crofton and Chemainus communities.
"I'm excited to get out of council chambers and bring the budget discussion to the community," Councillor Maeve Maguire said. "Budgets aren't as boring as they sound," she added. "It's one of the most important thing we do as a council and it determines our priorities for the next year and beyond."
According to the municipality's website the meetings will start off with a presentation on the draft budget and council's identified priorities and finish with the chance for the community to have their say.
"These town halls will give our residents and businesses a chance to ask questions and provide feedback before we finalize anything," Maguire noted.
The town hall meetings are in addition to council's extensive budget and tax-specific meeting schedule at the municipal hall. Visit www.northcowichan.ca/budget for the complete schedule.
When the details have been ironed out, information about the dates and times of the meetings will be released at www.northcowichan.ca and through the municipality's Facebook and Twitter pages.