AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) – Leaders in the City of Aurora, along with the Aurora Police Department, hosted a Town Hall meeting Saturday afternoon addressing a series of issues and changes the city is hoping to make.

One of the main topics that took up over half the meeting was how they are battling car thieves across the city.

“We’re not going to have car thefts in Aurora. We are going to come down on that,” the Mayor Pro Tem of Aurora Françoise Bergan said.

She, along with other leaders in the city, proposed a new Motor Vehicle Theft Ordinance, that will go before City Council for its first hearing on June 27.

“Those people who steal vehicles will go to jail for 60 days for their first offense and 120 days for a second offense,” Bergan explained.

Mayor Mike Coffman said that car theft is the number one public safety issue for the city of Aurora. He said not only is it a crime, but it turns into a trickle-down of criminal acts, especially among teens.

According to Coffman, it’s state leaders not giving harsh enough punishment that allows for repeat offenders.

“We have had a rise in crime rates. The state legislator has weakened so many penalties that we don’t have the consequences these people feel,” Mayor Coffman said.

Mayor Coffman said they will be hosting these towns monthly. The one held Saturday he said was a test. Two out of the 12 meetings will be hosted completely in Spanish. The meeting scheduled for July is one of those.

The mayor said to check his social media for the next Town Hall date.