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Public hearing on 2026 budget draws a single critical speaker who cites policing and recall costs
Summary
At a public hearing on the 2026 budget, one speaker criticized council leadership for alleged waste, cited policing concerns and referenced a pending recall campaign estimated to cost $863,000.
The Aurora City Council opened and closed a public hearing on the 2026 budget Monday after one person spoke during the allotted public-comment period.
Greg Hayes, budget officer, opened the public hearing and said the hearing was a twice-yearly opportunity for residents to comment on the current budget. A single speaker identified as Portia used her three minutes to criticize council leadership and to raise concerns about policing and a recall effort. Portia said, in part, "Councilmember Jurinski is trying to do a recall campaign of District Attorney Amy Patton that's going to cost north of $863,000 ... we are also seeing continuous police brutality and fatalities..." and that the community must identify ways to "mitigate the continual and inevitable losses that Aurora is going to take financially" related to these issues.
Portia also referenced HR1 at the federal level and urged the council to identify "innovative ways to work around the inevitabilities of the police brutality and fatality." She closed by urging consultation with Council Member Jurinski and offering wishes for the council as it navigates the budget.
After the speaker concluded, the council chair closed the public hearing. Staff did not provide additional budget details during the hearing; public comment centered on policing, community safety and the financial implications of political actions and federal law as presented by the single commenter.
