Columbia residents spoke directly with city leaders Wednesday evening during the city's monthly "Let's Talk Local" community discussion.
Wednesday's discussion focused on the newly adopted Fiscal Year 2026 budget, which took effect Oct. 1.
"The majority of our general fund goes to public safety," Mayor Barbara Buffaloe said. "If we think about public safety as police and fire, $35 million of our $132 million goes to the police department and $30 million goes to the fire department. And the majority of that is for the people responding for when you call for service."
Buffaloe also addressed questions about money the city will get from a settlement with internet service provider Brightspeed.
"Those are funds that we would've been collecting anyway," Buffaloe said. "They would've gone into the general fund, so they basically went into our reserves. This is why council felt comfortable going into the reserves this year because those are funds we would've had anyway."
Homelessness and Crime
City leaders also spoke about downtown safety concerns and homelessness in Columbia.
"We had the police chief here, so having her respond to what we're doing preventatively and what we're doing for downtown focus is our opportunity to put out some of the myths that are out there," Buffaloe said.
The mayor addressed recent changes to policing in downtown Columbia, some of which came in response to a deadly shooting the weekend of MU's Homecoming.
"We've upped how many people we have downtown by patrolling on our weekends and especially game days," Buffaloe said. "But also we're doing more proactive policing. Our police are out during the day working with community members about making sure they're following the laws."
The "Let's Talk Local" event is part of the city's effort to promote transparency and encourage public participation in local government. Each discussion is hosted by a different council member and highlights an issue important to residents.
"'Let's Talk Local' is a great opportunity for us to get out face to face with community members and hear the questions they have," Buffaloe said.
Residents can also submit questions or discussion topics prior to these monthly discussions online.
A second Let's Talk Local discussion is planned later this month with Ward 2 Council Member Vera Elwood. The city said more details will be released soon.