Centreville constituents expressed concerns about the state of the economy and a possible credit rating downgrade during a recent town hall meeting hosted by Member of Parliament for Centreville Reece Chipman.
The more than 200 people who attended the town hall meeting were very much interested in understanding how they can better control their finances.
Chipman said that for his constituents, who for the most part represent a class of people struggling to make ends meet, the state of the economy means they will have to struggle to find jobs and put food on he table.
"They understand that they need to save once they get an opportunity to work," Chipman said. "A lot of them actually asked for more discussion as we move forward on finances, money, business and opportunity."
Chipman said he wanted to conduct an economic discussion that talked about issues from their perspective.
"We wanted it to be an economic discussion from their eyes, because to them the economy means 'am I able to afford my next meal', in some cases the economy means 'am I going to be able to find a job next week', the economy means 'do I have enough education to even go out there and get a job', so we were just trying to tie in all the ventricles at this point," he said.
The town hall meeting also addressed issues such as drainage, street lights, contractual workers, environment, mosquitoes and water pumps. Special projects such as "True Colors", dental, eye and music programs and the MP special award program for students, were also discussed.
"Many constituents were concerned about garbage collection, small business assistance, regularization of employment and national status, job opportunities and GED or continuing education," a press release on the event said.
"There was also a discussion on the Urban Renewal home repairs and summer programs. Constituents were informed of the many facilities in the area that should be committed to community development."
Former member of Parliament for the constituency and former Prime Minister Perry Christie was widely criticized for not doing enough for his constituents during his terms in office.

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