Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Raleigh staff say parks, water and public safety ranked highest in FY26 budget outreach; sidewalks and leaf pickup were most-cited gaps
Summary
Sadia Sitar, director of Budget and Management Services for the City of Raleigh, told the mayor and council during a budget work session that targeted outreach for the FY26 budget included two virtual sessions, five in-person district meetings and public events; participants most often praised parks, Raleigh Water and public safety and repeatedly raised neighborhood sidewalk and transit-frequency concerns.
Sadia Sitar, director of Budget and Management Services for the City of Raleigh, told the mayor and council during a budget work session that staff conducted targeted outreach for the FY26 budget development process that combined virtual meetings, five in-person listening sessions across council districts and public events including a Budget and Brews night.
Sitar said the outreach emphasized three goals — education, access and feedback — and that staff provided interpreters, childcare and a four‑page “budget at a glance” to make material more accessible. “This year, we took it a step further, and we're a little targeted in our approach,” she said, describing five structured questions asked at each session and live response collection through Slido.
The nut graf: City staff plan to fold the community feedback into department budget discussions and to return with additional work sessions in March and April before the city manager’s proposed budget is published in May.
What staff did and who they reached
Sitar said the city’s…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
