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Charlottesville revisits participatory budgeting pilot and outreach plan; staff outline timeline and costs
Summary
Councilors discussed reviving a participatory budgeting pilot with staff outlining a multi-month process (idea collection, proposal development, voting) and noting prior budget set-aside of $100,000; staff recommended a narrow pilot and warned outreach and facilitator costs may exceed initial allocations.
City staff told Charlottesville City Council on June 1 that the city previously reserved funds to test a participatory budgeting (PB) pilot and asked whether council wishes to proceed with a neighborhood-scale demonstration.
Staff described PB as a resident-led democratic process in which ideas are solicited from the public, a proposal design team develops feasible projects, residents vote on the proposals, and the winners are implemented the following budget year. The staff presentation noted a prior budget action that set aside $100,000 for PB (the transcript references this as "in FY209 the council set aside $100,000"), and staff said the typical timeline is: idea collection (August–October), proposal development (November–February), resident voting in April, and implementation in the next fiscal year.
Councilors asked practical questions: which project types are viable, how to ensure equitable outreach to avoid "squeaky-wheel" outcomes, whether the $100,000 covers facilitator and outreach costs, and whether a smaller pilot (single neighborhood or theme) would be preferable. Staff recommended thorough outreach—door-to-door canvassing, in-person events, online options and small incentives—to reach residents who do not usually participate in government processes.
Staff suggested $100,000 could be a reasonable demonstration budget but warned that outreach, facilitation and implementation costs can be undercounted; they noted the city previously planned a pilot in 2019 but did not complete implementation. Councilors generally supported exploring PB again if staff return with a concrete plan, a clear scope and a reliable estimate of total costs including outreach and project implementation.
If council approves a pilot, staff said an internal interdisciplinary team or an outside contractor would be needed to manage the process and that a staged approach (narrow theme or single neighborhood) could make the pilot more feasible for FY28 or FY29.
