During the Washington City Council’s public hearing on the proposed city budget for fiscal year 2016-2017, about 15 people voiced their support for keeping the city-owned pool open. Others in the packed Council Chambers endorsed those voices by applause.

The outpouring of support for the pool was expected.

What about other items in the proposed budget, such as an increase on the property-tax rate that would increase the annual taxes on a home valued at $100,000 by $20, or increases in water, sewer and stormwater fees? Only one person addressed other budget-related items. That’s sad.

As one person who attended the meeting said, it’s easy to get a crowd when talking about the pool, geese and cat populations in the city and fences in the city’s historic district. Those topics draw large crowds to the Council Chambers. Not so when it comes to proposed tax increases, recommended increases in fees and spending city money on major capital expenditures such as new fire engines and a new police station.

The meetings in which the pool, geese, cats and fences are discussed tend to draw people with special interests in such subjects, whether those people are for or against actions related to the subjects at hand. You would think that because the city budget affects all city taxpayers, more people would attend budget hearings to let city officials know where they stand on specific items in the proposed budget. Judging by turnouts at budget hearings in recent years, there is little public interest in how the city spends its money. That’s sad.

Even more than what happens with the governments in Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, what happens with local government in Washington, North Carolina, affects the wallets and pocketbooks of Washington residents. City taxpayers should keep that in mind when it comes to special-interest groups in the city, they are the largest of such groups. That means power. City taxpayers should be using that power. As voters, they have the ultimate say when it comes to local government.

When taxpayers don’t use their right to influence the city’s budget, they are letting their power erode — or worse, may lose that power completely.

It’s taxpayers’ money the city is spending. They have the right — and responsibility — to influence how tax dollars are being spent. Exercise that right on a regular basis.