Participatory Budgeting Events in New York

At the end of October The Participatory Budgeting Project is sponsoring two public talks in New York City, featuring Chicago Alderman Joe Moore, who launched the first US participatory budgeting process this past year. See below for info. If you are interested in setting up similar events in your city, send us an email.

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From Budget Cuts to a People's Budget?
Connecting Participatory Planning and Public Budgets in New York
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WHEN: Friday, October 29, 2010 - 5-7pm
WHERE: Pratt Institute Brooklyn Campus, Higgins Hall Auditorium - 61 St. James Place, at Lafayette (G to Clinton-Washington)
SPONSORS: Pratt Institute Programs For Sustainable Planning and Development, Community Voices Heard, The Design Trust for Public Space, The Participatory Budgeting Project

This panel discussion will explore how New York's budget crises and lack of accountability might be addressed by opening up budgeting to the public. Chicago Alderman Joe Moore will share his experience with participatory budgeting, in which he invited residents of his ward to directly decide how to spend his $1.3 million discretionary budget. Invited New York City Council Members, Community Board representatives, and community activists will then respond to Moore's presentation, discussing if and how community members could be more involved in budget decisions in New York.

Speakers include:
- Joe Moore, Chicago Alderman
- Brad Lander, New York City Council Member for District 39
- Fernando Tirado, District Manager, Bronx Community Board 7
- Anne Washington, Community Voices Heard

RSVP to Josh Lerner at joshalerner(at)gmail(dot)com

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Public Control over Public Money:
Participatory Budgeting at CUNY, Flatbush, and Beyond
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WHEN: October 28th, 6:30-8:30pm
WHERE: Brooklyn College Student Center, 2901 Campus Road
SPONSORS: BC Dept. of Political Science, NYC Solidarity Economy Network, The Participatory Budgeting Project

This discussion will explore how public budgets could be opened up to public participation, at CUNY, in Flatbush, and elsewhere in New York. Chicago Alderman Joe Moore will share his experience with participatory budgeting, in which he invited residents of his ward to directly decide how to spend his $1.3 million discretionary budget. Other speakers include Professor Michael Menser (Brooklyn College), local elected officials, and representatives from community organizations and student groups.

RSVP to Michael Menser at morphospace(at)gmail(dot)com
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More information:
- Chicago's $1.3 Million Experiment in Democracy, YES! Magazine
- Spending out in the open for 49th Ward, Chicago Tribune
- Participatory Budgeting in the 49th Ward Website

3 Participatory Budgets Honored for "Vitalizing Democracy"

From Tiago Peixoto: The Bertelsmann Foundation has announced the 7 finalists of the Reinhard-Mohn Prize 2011 “Vitalizing Democracy”. To this competition, 158 cases of democratic innovations from all over the world have been submitted. Amongst the 7 finalists chosen by the jury, 3 cases are related to innovations in the field of Participatory Budgeting (2 Brazil, 1 Argentina). All these 3 PB cases have the usage of ICT as an essential component of their participatory process.

- La Plata (Argentina): Participatory Budgeting uses SMS-voting and electronic ballots.

- Belo Horizonte (Brazil) Co-Governance: part of Belo Horizonte’s participatory budgeting includes Internet and interactive voice response (IVR) voting.

- Recife (Brazil) Participatory Budgeting: includes electronic ballots and Internet voting.

The 7 finalist cases will now go through an in-depth process of evaluation and documentation. The outputs of this process (e.g. videos, research papers) will then be available to the public at large, providing a wealth of information for researchers and practitioners.

The full-list of finalists can be found here.

Year Two of Participatory Budgeting in Chicago

Participatory Budgeting in Chicago’s 49th Ward is starting its second year, looking to build on the success of last year. Over the summer, a group of organization representatives and community representatives from the first year of PB formed a PB Leadership Committee, to help coordinate the process. The Leadership Committee finalized dates for the first round of community meetings, and it has been fundraising to support further outreach and engage more ward residents for this year’s process.

Neighborhood Assembly Schedule
(Note: All meetings begin at 7:00 p.m.)
Monday, September 27th, Loyola Park Fieldhouse
Tues, September 28th, Saint Margaret Mary's
Wednesday, September 29th, Pottawomie Park Fieldhouse
Monday, Oct. 4th, New Field School, 1707 W. Morse
Tuesday, Oct. 5th, St. Jerome Church Parish Center, 1709 W. Lunt (Spanish language)
Wednesday, Oct. 6th, Loyola University, Campion Hall, 6551 N. Sheridan
Monday, Oct. 11th, United Church of Rogers Park, 1545 W. Morse, 3rd Floor
Tuesday, Oct. 12th, Natalie Salmon House, 7320 N. Sheridan
Tuesday, Oct. 19th, Gale Academy, 1631 W. Jonquil

Members of the Leadership Committee will also be holding smaller versions of neighborhood assemblies at local schools, organizations, churches, nursing homes, and senior centers in an attempt to reach out to populations that were under-represented in last year’s process. Look to the 49th Ward PB website for further updates on the assemblies.