Council hears participatory budgeting presentation; members discuss local funding options

The City Council received a presentation Oct. 21 from the Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP) explaining the participatory budgeting (PB) process, examples from other U.S. cities and best practices for equitable implementation.

Jane DeRoney (development manager, PBP) and Anita Dos Santos (advocacy manager, PBP) described the six typical PB phases — design, idea collection, proposal development, voting, funding and evaluation — and showed examples of PB implemented with discretionary alderman funds, school budgets, city budgets and non‑profits.

The presenters emphasized that PB is flexible about funding sources and scale: successful U.S. pilots have used pots as small as $3,000 in schools and $50,000 in small cities, while some larger city processes use municipal line-items or dedicated taxes. PBP recommended choosing a “pot of money that matters” and tailoring outreach and voting methods to reach underrepresented residents.

Council member Desiree Simmons said she had been thinking of the mental‑health/public‑safety millage as a potential funding source to pilot PB. Councilors asked about voting security and whether the clerk would be involved. PBP representatives said they recommend both online and in‑person voting and noted various security approaches (phone-number verification, ID at in-person events, paper voting), and that methods should be defined by the steering committee and in line with local laws.

Council member John McLean asked for contacts in Michigan where PB has been used; PBP cited Grand Rapids and reported advocacy in Detroit and other Michigan municipalities. The presenters offered written resources, a short video and follow-up contacts.

No council action was required; members asked staff to continue exploring whether a PB pilot should be run using existing or newly allocated funds.