Our first town hall meeting is this Thursday night, Aug. 12, 7 p.m. at the Churchill Recreation Center. Councilman Linda Koop will be present to give and gather input. Koop will also team up with Councilman Ron Nitinsky during a meeting next Monday, Aug. 16 at the Fretz Recreation Center. Natinsky will also preside over budget meetings on Tuesday, Aug. 17 at Timberglen Library and Thursday, Aug. 19 at the North Central Police Substation.

Contributing editor Jeff Siegel has had quite a bit to say on the subject on the Advocate Back Talk blog, whether it’s the budget winners and losers, heliports, or an entire podcast devoted to the budget crisis.

If you want to hear about the process of slashing more than $130 million from the budget straight from the horse’s mouth, tune in to KERA-TV’s interview program “Think” with Krys Boyd this Friday, Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. In this episode, Boyd talks with Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm about what the budget cuts mean to public safety and city services in the coming year.