请问下文的argument是什么？

这是可能考的作文题目，我不知道到底批评谁。公众呢还是作者？似乎作者并没有在argue什么

“Last year, the city contracted with Flower Power to plant a variety of flowers in big decorative pots on Main Street and to water them each
week. By midsummer many of the plants were wilted. This year the city should either contract for two waterings a week or save money by
planting artificial flowers in the pots. According to Flower Power, the initial cost for artificial flowers would be twice as much as for real
plants, but after two years, we would save money. Public reaction certainly supports this position: in a recent survey, over 1,200 Gazette
readers said that the city wastes money and should find ways to reduce spending.”

Q. whether the city should plant artificial flowers to save money.