Richmond People's Budget to send 10'15 district projects to voters; $3 million pilot budget and April 1 15 voting window announced

The Richmond People's Budget, a participatory budgeting pilot that gives residents a role in selecting capital projects, will put district-level project proposals to ranked vote from April 1 through April 15, organizers told the Richmond City Council's Organizational Development Standing Committee.

Leliana Delgado, civic engagement coordinator in the City Council chief of staff's office, said the pilot aims to allocate $3 million in FY26 capital funding across the city's nine districts. The steering commission used the RVA 2050 social-vulnerability map to guide distribution so that higher-need areas receive larger dollar shares. Under the pilot's funding structure, organizers said district allocations will range from a base $200,000 to larger shares (example figures cited by staff included $300,000 and $500,000 amounts for higher-need districts); staff said exact per-district allocations and the ballot for each district are available from the People's Budget office and will be published…