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TOLEDO -- Mayor Mike Bell was part of a heated discussion with community members at Burroughs Elementary School in South Toledo on Monday night.

Bell said he knew he would be met with opposition, considering his recent support of Senate Bill 5, but was ready to address his critics. 

One of the meeting's attendees told the mayor that keeping SB 5 would mean a large enough pay cut to her salary that she wouldn't "be able to pay for electricity."

The Mayor was happy to break down his decision, saying he "knows how it feels, cause [he] had to be laid off. And the question is: is a person better off with a little less and still having a job or not having a job at all."

While several at the meeting were there only to discuss the controversial collective bargaining law, others wanted to change the topic.

One woman said, "I thought that I was coming to a meeting about the neighborhood."

Concerns about abandoned homes, crime and a potential lack of code enforcement by the Department of Neighborhoods were other highly discussed issues.

One frustrated resident accused the mayor of not doing enough to keep her community beautiful, accusing Bell's office of falling behind on demolition of abandoned homes.

The mayor, in turn, asked residents to be more proactive; telling them to reach out to their local council members before an issue gets out of control.

Bell said that overall, he was happy with the meeting even with  the high number of critiques for his office. He said the participation and their passion just shows that residents in South Toledo have not given up on the city.

Did you attend the meeting? What did you think of Mayor Bell's responses to some of the questions? Weigh in below.