The public is invited to attend a town hall meeting for the city of Covington this Thursday evening at the Turner Lake Complex.

The meeting will be held in the Banquet Room from 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. Attending the meeting will be Mayor Kim Carter, City Manager Steve Horton and members of the city council who will answer questions from the audience. Light refreshments will be provided.

"I'm trying to encourage and engage our community to have more access to the government," Carter said of the purpose of the meeting.

While campaigning for mayor in 2007, Carter promised "inclusion and access to our city government." The town hall, which Carter said she hopes will become the first in a series of quarterly meetings, is one of the initiatives the mayor is introducing as part of that campaign promise.

Other actions to encourage greater community access include the recent decision to move the city council meeting times an hour earlier on Monday evenings to 6:30 p.m. Council meetings will also be broadcast on local PEG channels when they become available.

Thursday's town hall will be moderated by Bob Furnad, chairman of FaithWorks and a retired journalist.

Attendees will be provided with note cards to write down questions for Carter, Horton and the council. They will also be asked to rank several issues such as sidewalks, streetlights, garbage pickup and taxes, in order of importance. Carter said the rankings will be totaled before evening's end. The results of the rankings could form the basis of future city initiatives.

"We're hoping we're going to have a good turnout," Carter said, adding "We're all in this together. This is a community for the people, by the people and for the people, here's another good opportunity to have their voices heard."