Ocoee commission sets schedule for budget hearings, workshops

Residents who’d like a say in how Ocoee City funds are spent in the upcoming fiscal year are invited to attend Ocoee’s budget workshops and hearings in August and September.

Two budget workshops are set for August 15 and 30 at 6 p.m. at Ocoee City Hall, and the budget hearings are set for the same time and place on September 12 and 21.

The workshops and hearings will allow folks to express their thoughts to City Commissioners regarding what public projects they’d prefer funds be distributed to.

“I do want people there. It’s a time when … they have an opportunity to tell us what they want and what they don’t want,” District 2 Commissioner Rosemary Wilsen said. “That’s when opinions count. During the year we get a lot of folks who call and say ‘I want my streets paved.’ … Well, the time to speak is now because that’s when we’re also (deciding on) the sections of town that will be repaved.”

Once money is allocated for projects in the budget workshops in August, they are finalized and approved in the hearings taking place in September.

“So now is the time to come forward and make a point as to what you want to see happen in the coming year,” Wilsen said. “I do wish more residents would come forward and come and sit. It may take about five or six hours of their time total, but it is the time to get involved and tell us what you want to see in Ocoee.”

Correction: A previous version of this article listed the first scheduled budget workshop as August 25. It has since been corrected to reflect the actual date, which is August 15.