Give N.Y.ers say in budget: advocates
Mayor de Blasio promised to bring participatory budgeting, in which voters decide how to spend government funding, to the national level if elected president.
But more than a year after New York City voters approved a measure to bring “PB” citywide, and in the wake of his failed presidential campaign, he’s yet to fully fund the local effort.
A coalition of advocacy groups led by the nonprofit Participatory Budgeting Project is urging Hizzoner to commit $500 million to the Civic Engagement Commission charged with overseeing the budgeting process.
“In his presidential campaign, Mayor de Blasio made a bold $1.65 billion commitment to national PB,” Melissa Appleton, program director of the Participatory Budgeting Project, said in a statement. “Now is the time for an equally bold mayoral commitment to ensure that citywide PB is a successful legacy program, not an unfulfilled promise.”
Recent years have seen participatory budgeting come to many City Council districts, where residents get a chance to allocate funds for projects like library renovations and school laptops.
If voters had $500 million to play with, that would be the largest pot of funds for any PB program in the world, advocates say. By comparison, Paris allocates about $111 million a year to its version of PB, they said.
“Our research shows that participatory budgeting can meaningfully engage diverse community members, including those who are disenfranchised from traditional voting and other forms of civic engagement,” Erin Markman, director of research and policy at TakeRoot Justice, said in a statement.
De Blasio’s office said Hizzoner (top) is still into PB.
“The mayor has long hailed participatory budgeting as an important avenue for civic engagement that enhances democracy in New York City,” de Blasio spokesman Jose Bayona said in a statement. “This administration is committed to extending access to participatory budgeting citywide through the work of the Civic Engagement Commission and in partnership with advocates, volunteers, elected officials and community members.”