Career training and duty were the main topics of conversation last night at a Pre-Budget Town Hall meeting at the Leopard’s Club.The meeting, the second in a series of three weekly meetings, was held to give the public an opportunity to give their thoughts on the upcoming Budget.Premier Paula Cox told the audience of around 100 that Government is continuing to make “do more with less” its mantra in the upcoming Budget as the recession continues.“The challenge is to take action to stimulate the economy to save jobs while experiencing decreasing revenue,” she said.Public Works Minister Michael Weeks said his Ministry is working to save money by reducing the length of road to be repaved by 40 percent, focusing efforts on areas where the most attention is needed.He said the Ministry was also looking into recycling asphalt, which could reduce spending even further.National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief also spoke on trimming his Ministry’s budget, saying that work has been done to cut back on police overtime while moving more officers to areas of need.Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Patrice Minors said that her Ministry would continue to work to provide employment opportunities, making note of the upcoming creation of a one-stop career centre, while Minister of Government Estates and Information Services Micheal Scott emphasised the importance of that Ministry’s apprenticeship positions.In a subsequent question and answer section, the issue of duty rates was broached repeatedly. While Paula Clarke from the Chamber of Commerce praised the efforts to support local retailers, other members of the public expressed concern about a possible increase in duty for items brought into the Island by courier.While a pre-Budget report issued by the Government said it was considering “harmonising” duty rates, Premier Cox said: “It could mean rolling back on duty and increasing rates in other areas.”Another topic of discussion was a perceived lack of ‘soft skills’ in Bermuda’s young people. Mr Scott and Ms Minors both noted the important role that apprenticeship programmes and other training programmes can have in developing those skills, Mr Weeks said that everyone has a role to play.“We grew up in an age where it took a village to raise a child. We have to go back to that,” he said.The next public meeting will be held next Wednesday at Francis Patton School at 7.30pm. Premier Cox is scheduled to be joined at that meeting by Deputy Premier Derrick Burgess, Education Minister Dame Jennifer Smith, Minister of Business Development and Tourism Wayne Furbert and Minister of Environment, Planning and Infrastructure Strategy Marc Bean.Useful website: www.gov.bm.