More than 4,000 St. Catharines residents took part in the annual Telephone Town Hall as city staff work on the draft budget.
More than half of participants said if the city secured additional funds for major community projects, they would like to see that money funnelled into affordable housing.
When asked whether they would like to see a recreational cannabis store in The Garden City, 57% of respondents said no.
Attracting businesses and jobs to the area was pegged as a priority for half of the people surveyed, while 30% indicated tackling homelessness, poverty, and the opioid crisis as the most important issue.
And just a little over half of the residents contacted last night also said they wanted to see the overall expenditure increase lowered from the 3.98% proposed by city staff.
