Hi folks, as of this moment, 95 people have signed the petition. Which is great! Especially given it hasn't been a full day since I posted it. However, 717 people have viewed it but the majority have not taken the moment to sign it.

I'd appreciate any feedback or input anyone would care to give. Is there anything that I can do to improve involvement? This is an urgent issue. According to Change.org stats, local petitions have a 50% greater success rate than any other at achieving their objectives.

Our mayor, Jeff Leal, and city council are planning to increase funding to the police by 8.8%, after an increase last year of about 15%, bringing the police budget to more than a quarter of the total city budget! Of course we need a well funded police department, but it seems to me priorities are skewed. On top of the outsized increase to the police budget, Mayor Leal and the city council saw fit to spend $4.4 million to literally pave the entirety of Bonnerworth Park for pickleball courts. There's nothing wrong with pickleball, but seriously? Who benefits from this? Certainly not the kids and families who played baseball and other sports in the park.

The budget is set to be passed December 9th. We have precious little time to pressure Mayor Leal and council to reject the cuts to the arts and community organizations our city treasures and depend on. With enough participation, the petition will certainly help. I also encourage everyone to call and/or write Mayor Leal and your Councillor and let them know directly what you think. We elect these people. They are answerable to us.