You are absolutely correct that these questions have not been part of this process.  Worse yet, this clown car of a city council has never addressed one of the primary issues of good governance, namely, what are our priorities and responsibilities and does our budget match them?

For instance, having a functioning criminal justice system (cops, courts, jail beds, diversion programs) is a critical function of local government, and yet we fail on every measure here. How is a palace for Ruiz more important than that? Our budget system seems to be one ad hoc decision after another, all made without context and without referencing any alternatives.