In The Press

After we just completed an election season where democracy was under attack across the country -- from Citizens United-era "dark money" to voter suppression laws -- a movement has sprung up in New York City that seeks to strengthen rather than subvert involvement in the democratic process. It's called participatory budgeting.

Kids at P.S. 124 are flush with excitement.

After years of dealing with grungy bathrooms, the school cut the ribbon Thursday on a set of shiny new commodes for its kindergartners.

The bathrooms got their long overdue makeover as part of City Councilman Brad Lander's participatory budgeting program, where local residents get to choose how government dollars are spent in their neighborhood.

Close to 1,000 people in Lander's district voted to fix up the dilapidated bathrooms, some of which were missing doors on their stalls, forcing kids to avoid relieving themselves for the entire school day.

Among them was 17-year-old Kimarley Forbes, a senior at the Secondary School for Law at the John Jay Campus. Forbes said he'd like to use the $1 million to improve technology at schools at the John Jay campus, which houses four high schools, or build a new library in the neighborhood. Forbes said students from all four schools at John Jay liked the idea of building a rooftop garden at the campus.

Forbes, who said he's considering a career in politics, said he attended the session because he wanted to make sure his voice was heard. "It wouldn't be right for the government to say what should happen in this community. It's better for the citizens in the community to say what they want," Forbes said.

So who knows our neighborhood needs better than we do? A rhetorical question, of course, but one that gets at the heart of a City Council initiative called Participatory Budgeting.

In 2011-2012, Brad Lander was one of four NYC Councilmembers leading their districts in a program first hatched in Brazil and launched in this country in Chicago. The success of the actions taken in NYC’s four forward-thinking districts led to the program’s doubling—eight councilmembers, representing over one million New Yorkers, have dedicated a total of at least $10 million in NYC discretionary capital funds for the 2012-2013 program. It is we, the constituents, who decide how the money is spent.

A year ago, City Council member Melissa Mark-Viverito was instrumental in helping to bring participatory budgeting to New York City, engaging her district and giving them say in the political process by allocating a percentage of the council member’s discretionary funds for capital projects of their choosing. In 2011, Mark-Viverito was one of four members, along with Jumaane Williams, Eric Ulrich, and Brad Lander, to introduce the process in their districts. But at a seminar Thursday evening at Baruch College, Mark-Viverito said that she hoped the success of the program in her community would encourage more members to sign on and for the city to eventually fold the initiative into its budget.“Ideally, in a perfect world, we would love to see a percentage of the city budget allocated to this process,” Mark-Viverito said. “We’re nowhere near that, so we’re starting it off small to give people a foothold in it, to understand it, and as it grows in terms of number of members, and keeps growing from that experience, I think it could be really powerful.”

Levin to Open Budget Process to the Public

Jul 26, 2012 by Jeff Mann

Council Member Steve Levin is calling on Greenpointers to help plan next year’s city budget.

Levin, along with seven other City Council Members, is teaming up with the Participatory Budget Project (PBP), a nationwide organization dedicated to giving communities direct control over how cities spend their tax money. At a meeting at St. Francis College, on Tuesday, July 24th, Levin and representatives from PBP and Community Voices Heard, who will help with community outreach and mobilization, announced the process by which $1 million of Levin’s annual discretionary funds would be allocated to projects chosen by his constituents.

Over the coming months, Levin and PBP will conduct a series of neighborhood assemblies, at which community members will learn about the budget and local needs, then brainstorm spending ideas. At those meetings, “budget delegates” will be selected to represent the district’s many neighborhoods. These delegates will develop the community’s ideas into project proposals that community members will vote on in March 2013. Winning projects will become part of the 2013-14 city budget.

PBP first ran their program in Chicago in 2009 and expanded it to New York last year, forming partnerships with four members of the City Council. Four more Council Members, including Levin, signed on this year after seeing the success of the inaugural program. “It’s good government,” Levin said. “It brings transparency to how a project gets funded and creates a sense of civic involvement.” Supporters of the plan say participatory budgeting helps bring more equitable funding decisions and strengthens neighborhoods and community organizations. Detractors, however, worry that some poorer parts of the district may not be represented. Levin plans to overcome that hurdle by helping Community Voices Heard select a balanced group of budget delegates.

Last year, Brooklyn Council Member Brad Lander brought participatory budgeting to his district. Some of the projects paid for new technology at two schools, new library books, a community composting system near Gowanus Canal, the planting of 100 new trees and repairs to Prospect Park pedestrian paths. “This is revolutionary civics in action,” said Lander. “New Yorkers showed that when you give them the opportunity to make real decisions, they will take that power seriously, work together and make good choices. I was overwhelmed by the turnout and deep level of engagement.”

Residents of the district, 16 years and older, may vote in the participatory budgeting process; however, anyone with an interest in the district (e.g. those working in the community) is eligible to become a delegate. Only city projects, such as schools, transportation and parks are qualified for participatory budgeting. The next neighborhood assembly will be held in August, date to be determined, at the McCarren Recreation Center.

For more information, contact Councilmember Levin’s office at (718) 875-5200. To learn more about participatory budgeting, visit http://www.participatorybudgeting.org/.

Called participatory budgeting, the program adopted by four City Council members last year allows New Yorkers to propose and vote on how to spend some of their tax dollars. Four new Council members -- David Greenfield (D-Brooklyn), Daniel Halloran (R-Queens), Stephen Levin (D-Brooklyn) and Mark Weprin (D-Queens) -- announced this week that they're bringing the program to their communities.

New York City's program is the largest in the country. Last year, 2,000 residents joined 27 public meetings in the fall and winter, and more than 6,000 New Yorkers voted on the projects in March.

"Participatory budgeting results in fairer spending and gets the public more involved with their government," Halloran said. "When the citizens are involved, our city will be fairer and will reflect the values and ethics of New Yorkers."

Projects funded by popular demand last year included $80k for new books and equipment to the Kensington, Brooklyn public library, $100k for transportation for seniors and a Meals-on-Wheels van in East Harlem and $147k for a water pump, pagers and an oxygen refill system for volunteer fire departments in the Rockaways.

"After seeing the success of participatory budgeting in neighboring districts, I'm proud to join my colleagues in utilizing the participatory budgeting process this year," Levin said. "Participatory budgeting will increase civic engagement, foster dialogue and cooperation amongst the diverse communities I represent, and allow Brooklynites to make real decisions about how to spend their tax dollars."

In Councilman Brad Lander's district, citizen budget delegates learned quickly how expensive simple projects can be. But they also found much could be accomplished without spending a dime.

This winter, volunteers in Brooklyn's 39th City Council District were given control of $1 million of Councilmember Brad Lander's capital budget. That sounds like a lot of money, until you try to build a dog park or refurbish a handball court.

The price tag on those projects? About $500,000.

Solar panels. Security cameras. A new church roof. There was no shortage of ideas for citizen budget delegates to consider in Councilman Jumaane Williams' district. But not all of them could work.

"What Would YOU Do with $1 Million Dollars?"

Councilman Jumaane Williams' email blasts read like an award notice from Publishers Clearing House. He has signed a $1,000,000 check to fund the first democratically chosen capital project in New York City.

All his constituents need to do is decide what they want, which is turning out to be easier said than done. The participatory budgeting project has become a crash course in fiscal responsibility for everyone involved.

A pilot effort is under way in four City Council districts to give constituents some say in which capital projects are funded. Amid successes and snags, there are signs the initiative is getting citizens more engaged in government.

Residents of four City Council districts will soon vote on how to spend municipal funds that will pay for expenditures in their communities, like planting trees and installing security lights. City councilmembers in these districts pledged at least $1 million each to the projects their constituents select during a new pilot program called participatory budgeting, a first for New York City.

The money comes from the city's capital budget, which differs from the annual operating budget that funds day-to-day expenses. The capital budget covers physical public improvements that cost $35,000 or more. Capital funds are disbursed through councilmembers' discretionary budget, the money the speaker of the City Council allocates to all councilmembers to spend as they see fit in their district. The amount councilmembers receive in capital funds varies, but can be $4 to $5 million.

Participatory budgeting originated in Brazil, but the New York City project is the brainchild of Josh Lerner, co-director of the nonprofit Participatory Budget Project. Lerner brought the idea to politicians and community leaders in 2010. Four City councilmembers—Brooklyn Democrats Brad Lander and Jumaane D. Williams, Manhattan Democrat Melissa Mark–Viverito and Queens Republican Eric Ulrich—agreed to participate.

Goal is increased engagement

The primary goal of participatory budgeting is to get residents more involved in government. The Participatory Budget Project has been working with lawmakers and communities in Toronto for 10 years. It launched a project in Chicago's 49th Ward in 2009. Lerner said these initiatives produced better educated and more politically empowered citizens.

"It's a huge learning process," says Lerner. "People who before did not know how city government worked became city government experts."

Participatory budgeting in New York began in October. Committees of neighborhood leaders and residents organized community meetings in order to brainstorm building projects and educate community members about capital funding.

At the end of that stage, residents who wanted to take an active role volunteered as budget delegates. These delegates began a weeks-long process of taking the projects from ideas scrawled on poster board to fully developed proposals on neighborhood ballots. Delegates divided themselves into committees to tackle areas such as parks and recreation, education and public art.

Since November, budget delegates have whittled down the ideas that came out of community meetings, considering only those that meet the city's criteria for capital funding. They met with experts from city agencies, community organizations and nonprofits to flesh out projects and set budgets.

The budget delegates sent their final list of projects to city agencies for review. They'll present the approved projects to their communities through the middle of March.

Some seek expansion

Some budget delegates say they hope the participatory budget model could be expanded to pay for services such as after-school programs and electronic waste pickup.

"Services are huge and services are needed," says Rachel Fine, a budget delegate on the public health, safety and sanitation committee in District 39. "When we were told that it could only be for capital projects and not services, people were still submitting ideas for service projects."

The money for these services comes primarily from a councilmember's expense budget, a separate stream of discretionary funds. This money is generally spent on renewing funding for nonprofit organizations.   

Lander, who represents eight neighborhoods stretching from Cobble Hill to Kensington, worries that allocating funding for services through the participatory budget process could amount to taking money from a little league to fund a senior center.

"You don't want to make it like a reality show between nonprofit organizations," says Lander.

District voters will go to the ballots in March to vote on the proposals. After that, City Council must approve the projects. But Williams, who represents Flatbush, Farragut and Flatbush, says funding every project wasn't the only measure of success.

"The main thing is not the vote. The main thing is the community engagement," Williams says.

The Participatory Budget Assemblies held throughout various neighborhoods in District 39 is a prime example of democracy at work. Although different neighborhoods were involved, the same project ideas were being suggested at each of the meetings. Public Safety, Public Health, and Sanitation were the primary concerns when discussing how the funds would benefit and improve the neighborhoods.

If you took part in any of the recent Participatory Budgeting Meetings, then you just made history. The Participatory Budgeting Project that’s currently taking place in New York is the largest Participatory Budgeting experiment in the United States. Chicago was the first to implement Participatory Budgeting but is overshadowed by NYC in terms of population. Participatory Budgeting for NYC is still in its early stage of the process but has generated a lot of positive feedback.

Participatory Budgeting delegate meetings are finally in process and will continue through February. This is an important step in Participatory Budgeting process because the ideas suggested by constituents during Participatory Budgeting meetings are being drafted into full proposals.

Constituents of District 8 express their concerns about Participatory Budgeting as well as suggesting creative project ideas on how to spend the one million productively. 

Brad Lander, Brooklyn City Councilman (D-39), and Melissa Mark-Viverito, city council member representing East Harlem and parts of the Bronx and Upper West Side discuss their new plan to involve constituents in budget allocation.

The flourescent halls of PS 58 were abuzz with anticipation Thursday night as more than 80 residents of Carroll Gardens and surrounding neighborhoods filtered into the school's auditorium for a Participatory Budgeting Assembly.  The forum, hosted by Brad Lander and with support from John Heyer II and Maria Pagano of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, was held to educate residents on the goals of Lander's groundbreaking participatory budgeting project, and to provide a public discussion and informal brainstorming session for local residents to decide how their government spends tax-payers' dollars.

A New York City councilman says he has $1 million to spend -- and he wants his district members to tell him how to use it. Councilman Jumaane D. Williams, who represents the 45th Council District in Brooklyn, announced Sunday he is allocating $1 million from his capital budget for "participatory budgeting."

Read More

A Brooklyn community is trying to figure out how to spend about $1 million in capital money aimed at improving their district. Katy Tur reports.

Over 120 curious uptown residents gathered last week to take part in a brief but highly-anticipated political experiment: They began deciding how to spend a sliver of the city budget in their own neighborhood.

A dog run, better lighting and security at subway stations, more trees, and community composting were just some of the ideas presented at last night’s Windsor Terrace Participatory Budgeting meeting. More than 70 neighbors gathered at PS 154 to learn more about Councilmember Brad Lander’s plan, which allows community members in his district to propose ideas for capital improvements, and then vote on how to spend $1 million of discretionary funds.

Residents in East Harlem and parts of the Upper West Side will have a say in how $1 million in capital funds are spent throughout their neighborhoods in next year's budget process.  East Harlem City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito is one of four councilmembers trying out participatory budgeting, a process where community members get to vote on which community projects receive funding.

Old First Reformed Church in Park Slope filled its walls with more than 100 residents who were attending the neighborhood Participatory Budgeting Assembly. As you would expect, there were many project ideas that was suggested that would generate productivity and efficiency for the neighborhood. Some ideas residents proposed were to construct more public bike lanes, benches and to place more garbage cans on the streets. These project ideas are just the beginning for a better neighborhood.

Here's your chance to put your tax dollars where you want them. Does that empty lot on the corner get you down? Do you want to see more trash cans on your block? You just might be able to do something about it, if you get involved with the new participatory budgeting initiative.

What would you do with a million dollars? I'm sure you have the answer, but four New York City Council Members apparently don't. They each have a million dollars in discretionary taxpayer funds and need your help on how to spend it.

In four New York City Council districts, residents will soon be able to propose and vote on capital projects to be funded by councilmember's budgets. Yesterday, Council Member Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn), Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan), Council Member Eric Ulrich (R-Queens) and Council Member Jumaane D. Williams (D-Brooklyn) unveiled a new process for budgeting, in which voters in their districts will directly decide how to spend millions of their own tax dollars, a first in New York City.

市議員將選擇性撥款(discretionary fund)中飽私囊或撥給自己關係良好的社區機構的醜聞頻頻曝光後，四位市議員14日提出在自己區內改革選擇性撥款的方式，讓每個社區居民，甚至包括無證 移民，用投票方式來決定選擇性撥款的分配，這個過程稱為「參與性預算」（participatory budgeting）。

政府预算关切到每个人的生活，从交通、教育、医疗健保、公共安全、公园与市政建设，到住房及环保，无不涉及政府预算，如何让政府的财政政策更贴近民意，照 顾社会各阶层的真正需要，四名市议员9月14日宣布，从他们的选区开始将试验一种新的民主方式，以“参与式预算”（participatory budgeting）的方式，让市民当家作主。

Not a totally hypothetical question! Four city council members have decided to engage in "participatory budgeting," meaning that they'll let their constituents help choose how to spend their districts' $1 million discretionary funds. So if you live in Brad Lander, Jumaane D. Williams, Melissa Mark-Viverito, or Eric Ulrich's districts, start spitballing.

"We are excited to put budgeting power directly in the hands of the people," said Councilman Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn). The initiative, called participatory budgeting, will let residents voice their ideas at public meetings this fall.

Residents of the 39th City Council District in Brooklyn will get the opportunity to participate in a pilot program that allows everyday citizens to decide how city funds are spent in their neighborhoods. In a press conference Wednesday afternoon at City Hall, Councilman Brad Lander, D-Brooklyn, announced the launch of a "participatory budgeting" initiative that will be rolled out during the 2011-12 fiscal year in four Council Districts across the city.

New York City Council members are handing over their dollar decisions to who else ... the City's residents. Councilman Jumaane Williams stood alongside fellow council members during the announcement of Participatory Budgeting on City Hall's steps Wednesday.

Four New York City Council members are letting their constituents decide how to spend $4 million dollars in discretionary funding. Under the new pilot program, residents in the 8th, 39th, 45th and 32nd districts will be allowed to attend community meetings to nominate possible projects needed in the areas.

There is no way this could go wrong, right? The Times tells us today that "Four City Council members, intrigued by experiments begun in Brazil to let ordinary citizens determine how government uses tax dollars, say they plan to allow their constituents to decide how $4 million is spent next year."

Today, Council Member Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn), Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan), Council Member Eric Ulrich (R-Queens) and Council Member Jumaane D. Williams (D-Brooklyn), unveiled a new process for budgeting, in which voters in their districts will directly decide how to spend millions of their own tax dollars, a first in New York City. Through the new initiative, called participatory budgeting, residents will come together in public meetings this fall to discuss local priorities and propose specific infrastructure projects to address the needs of their communities.

Four City Council members, intrigued by experiments begun in Brazil to let ordinary citizens determine how government uses tax dollars, say they plan to allow their constituents to decide how $4 million is spent next year. Through a process known as participatory budgeting, constituents in each of the four Council districts will be enlisted to develop and choose among proposals for local capital projects like street repairs, new parks and public artworks. The money — $1 million in each district — will come out of the council members’ discretionary funds. (Among the city’s Council districts, discretionary funds range in size from $1.5 million to $6 million.)