MISSOULA — Missoulians will now have a new opportunity to voice their concerns and promote change in the community.
During Monday night’s city council meeting, it was announced that the city will add an ad hoc committee to be solely focused on listening to community concerns.
Community members have spent the last three weeks protesting and calling for action on issues like racial injustice and police brutality.
During Monday's meeting, members from each city ward spoke up, addressing the need for a series of community listening sessions.
Councilman Bryan Von lossberg will act as vice-chair of the committee while councilmember Mirtha Becerra of Ward 2 will be chair.
They say an ad hoc committee will provide a better platform for folks to make their voices heard.
According to Becerra, this is just the beginning of many steps in an effort to make Missoula a more welcoming place for people from all walks of life.
“But I wanna be clear,” said Von lossberg, “The reason we’re doing this, is first a recognition that our existing committee structure and processes themselves provide an impediment for hearing people in this moment, at this time, the way people need to be heard.”
Community listening sessions are expected to be up and running by next week and they will be open to the public.
