In tune with a 2018 ballot referendum, the NYC Civic Engagement Commission is expanding participatory budgeting on a citywide scale, giving residents a say on services and programs to fund.
Participatory budgeting allows residents to have a tangible say in where public money goes through a process that involves gathering ideas from residents, vetting them and then allowing residents to vote online, by paper ballot or by phone to choose which projects get funded. In this effort, residents ages 11 and older, regardless of immigration or incarceration status can participate.
The process has taken place in NYC on the City Council district level for more than a decade, but this marks the first of its kind on a citywide scale in NYC, according to the city’s Civic Engagement Commission (CEC), the entity overseeing the process. The initiative is launching in the Bronx on Wednesday.
