Santa Ana is bringing its issues to the people, and asking them to engage instead of waiting for people to engage on their own. At a recent community outreach meeting, more than 40 residents came to learn and ask questions about their city’s budget.

According to the Voice of OC, 40 engaged residents is a far improvement from the city’s last round of budget workshops, which drew no public comment despite narrowly avoiding insolvency and potential bankruptcy. Many of those who attended the meeting also came prepared with questions, in some situations stumping their elected representatives.

The budget outreach meetings can be credited to a group known as SACReD, an acronym for Santa Ana Collaborative for Responsible Development. They pushed previously for the City’s sunshine law which included a provision for the budget outreach.

Read the full story at the Voice of the OC.