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Residents urge council to include $3 million for Richmond "People's Budget" in FY26
Summary
Multiple residents and delegates at the public comment period urged the Richmond City Council to include $3 million for the Richmond People's Budget (participatory budgeting) in the upcoming city budget, saying the program increases civic engagement and targets resources to historically neglected neighborhoods.
Several residents and People's Budget delegates urged the Richmond City Council during public comment to include $3,000,000 for the Richmond People's Budget in the mayor's FY26 proposal, saying the participatory budgeting process gives residents a direct voice on how capital funds are spent.
Amori Speed, a community organizer with New Virginia Majority, testified that emergency financial assistance and a robust Family Crisis Fund should be a higher priority and urged the council to make those funds available to residents regardless of immigration status or eviction history. "Financial assistance isn't some entitled, undeserving handout. It's prevention from eviction and homelessness," Speed said.
Tess DeClue, chair of the Issues and Resolutions Committee for the Richmond City Democratic Committee, said her group supports allocating 1% of the capital improvement budget to participatory budgeting with a gradual increase to 3% in 2026, and asked the council to confirm whether the $3,000,000 allocation would be included in the budget proposal coming next week.
Yohannsee (Yvelina) Mechava and other residents emphasized that the People's Budget channels resident ideas directly into neighborhood projects; Maisie Osteen and several delegates described the process of district town halls, project vetting and the Social Vulnerability Index used for allocation. "Over nearly 2,000 ideas were submitted for The People's Budget," said Yohannsee Whitaker of the Legal Aid Justice Center. Whitaker told the council that participatory budgeting would amount to roughly 0.65% of the capital improvement budget and about 0.1% of the total city budget, figures she used to underline the program's modest budget impact relative to its community benefit.
Council response and next steps
Council members noted there would be updates to the council and the administration said staff (including Lady Anna Delgado and others) would provide further information on how the People’s Budget process will be incorporated into the upcoming budget calendar. Councilmember Allison Gibson later listed the Third District voting locations and dates for the People's Budget during her announcements: voting runs April 1–15 with specified in-person times and locations in the Third District and online at rvapb.org.
Speakers urged the council to keep the $3,000,000 allocation intact and to move from promise to implementation after several years of commitment to participatory budgeting.
