Aurora invites resident feedback on budget, safety, infrastructure, sustainability during upcoming events

Aurora city officials have announced a series of town hall and workshop events that aim to gather resident feedback for the city’s 2027 budget and its long-term plans for public safety, infrastructure and sustainability.

All four sessions in the series will be held at the Aurora Public Works facility at 2185 Liberty St. in Aurora.

The series kicks off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday with a town hall meeting on the city’s budget, public safety and infrastructure to inform budget discussions in September, according to a city news release.

The series comes after a contentious budget season last fall where city officials cited budget shortfalls in approving funding cuts to city departments that included around 140 layoffs.

Residents will have an opportunity to weigh in on this year’s final budget proposal at the last event in the city series in September.

City officials said they aim to engage all residents throughout the series and gather feedback on the city’s direction moving forward.

“We are looking to reach large segments of the community, ensuring that there is participation and input from as many of our residents as possible,” said Nicholas Richard-Thompson, the city’s deputy chief of staff.

The second series event will feature a civics workshop designed to build civic skills, deepen the public’s understanding of how city decisions are made and empower residents to take an active role in shaping Aurora’s future, according to the release.

The workshop is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 8.

A few weeks later, the city will hold a sustainability town hall detailing Aurora’s current sustainability efforts, which include green planning and long-term environmental resilience, officials said. The event will also ask attendees to share ideas that could guide the next phase of community-driven climate and development work.

Green planning and long-term environmental resilience have been a priority for Aurora Mayor John Laesch. He said in April that he aimed to start building energy-efficient housing with the help of existing incentive programs and new city loan programs, among other efforts.

He also said in April the city needed to start thinking about building an alternative energy grid.

The sustainability town hall is set to run from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22.

To cap off the summer civics series, the city will hold a budget town hall where city officials said they plan to present the city’s finalized budget proposal and spending plan for 2027, which is set to be adopted by the City Council in December.

The event will include a review and discussion of the budget proposal and give residents the opportunity to weigh in on the budget, according to the release. The budget discussions will build upon community input from previous town halls, officials said.

The final town hall is scheduled for 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26.

Officials invite residents to register ahead of time for the events at aurora.il.us/SummerCivics.