About the New York City Process

Starting in 2011, New York City Council Members Brad Lander (District 39), Melissa Mark-Viverito (District 8), Eric Ulrich (District 32), and Jumaane Williams (District 45) are using participatory budgeting to allocate part of their capital discretionary funds.

Between October 2011 and April 2012, residents of these four districts will directly decide how to spend at least $1 million of their Council Member’s funds – for a total of around $6 million.

Participatory budgeting is grassroots democracy at its best. It helps make budget decisions clear and accessible. It gives real power to people who have never before been involved in the political process. And it results in better budget decisions - because who better knows the needs of our community than the people who live there?

What are capital discretionary funds?

Discretionary funds are money that the City Council Member can allocate as he or she sees fit. There are two types of discretionary funds. Expense funds are used to pay for salaries and services. Capital funds are used to pay for physical infrastructure - for “bricks and mortar” projects.

For its first year, PBNYC will only deal with CAPITAL money. That means community members can propose projects like improvements to schools, parks, libraries, public housing, and other public or community spaces.

For more information about the City Budget and what types of projects are eligible for PB during the pilot year, see the PBNYC City Budget 101 Guide (PDF).

Why Participatory Budgeting in New York?

There are lots of benefits to conducting participatory budgeting, but in New York we especially hope it will help us move towards three core values in our community:

1. Transparency

Budget decisions and decision-making should be open and accessible to the public. Shining a light on the entire budget process lets the community have faith that good decisions are being made for the right reasons. PB is transparent because the whole community is participating, and everyone can see what decisions are being made along the way.

2. Equality

Every person should have the same power - one person, one vote. Giving each community member the same power to propose and vote on spending ideas through PB makes governance more democratic.

3. Inclusion

All voices in the community should be included - especially those of community members who feel disillusioned with the political process or face obstacles to participating. By making every effort to reduce obstacles to participation, we hope to prevent the ‘usual suspects’ or groups with more resources from dominating, and to generate projects that better reflect community needs.

We also hope that PB will have other benefits for the community:  inspiring greater civic participation, building community, educating and empowering residents, and leading to better budget decisions - spending that is more responsible and efficient, and that results in more sustainable and livable neighborhoods.

Timeline: What happens when?

The PB process involves a series of meetings that feed into the city’s annual budget cycle. For 2011-2012 the process starts in October 2011 and continues into 2012.

First Round of Neighborhood Assemblies: October - November 2011
At public meetings in each district, community members learn about PB and discuss their community’s needs. They then brainstorm project ideas and select budget delegates.

Delegate Orientations: November 2011
Delegates selected at the assemblies learn about the budget process, project development, and key spending areas, then form committees.

Delegate Meetings: November 2011 - February 2012
Delegates meet in committees to transform the community’s initial project ideas into full proposals, with support from Council Member staff and other experts.

Second Round of Neighborhood Assemblies: February 2012
Delegates present draft project proposals to the community and get feedback, with which they revise the projects.

Community Vote: March 2012
Delegates present the final project proposals and residents vote on which projects to fund.

Implementation & Monitoring: April 2012 onwards
The Council Members submit their spending priorities to the City Council, including the winning PB projects. Community members evaluate the process, and oversee the implementation of projects.

Research and Evaluation happens throughout these stages, to improve the process for next year!

Partners

Hundreds of organizations and individuals across the city are working together to make PBNYC a success.

At the city level, the participating Council Members are working with The Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP) as the technical assistance lead and Community Voices Heard (CVH) as the community engagement lead. A City-wide Steering Committee - consisting of forty organizations and institutions committed to improving city spaces and governance - is also helping to coordinate the initiative.

In each district, local organizations and community leaders have formed PB District Committees to drive the process forward.

The following partners make up the City-Wide Steering Committee for PBNYC’s Pilot Year:

• Council Member Brad Lander
• Council Member Mark-Viverito
• Council Member Eric Ulrich
• Council Member Jumaane Williams
• Community Voices Heard
• The Participatory Budgeting Project
• Building Movement Project
• Center for the Study of Brooklyn
• Center for Urban Pedagogy
• Common Cause NY
• Community Development Project of the Urban Justice Center
• Dēmos
• Erasmus Neighborhood Federation
• Fiscal Policy Institute
• Hester Street Collaborative
• Manhattan Institute
• New York Civic
• New York Civic Participation Project
• New York Immigration Coalition
• New Yorkers for Parks
• NYC Independent Budget Office
• Pratt Center for Community Development
• Project for Public Spaces
• Right to the City Alliance
• VOCAL-NY
• West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing
• Celina Su, Brooklyn College, CUNY
• Jessica Gordon Nembhard, John Jay College, CUNY
• Mimi Abramovitz, Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, CUNY
• Andreas Hernandez, Marymount Manhattan College
• Ayse Yonder, Pratt Institute
• The Children's Aid Society (8th District)
• Little Sisters of the Assumption (8th District)
• Union Settlement (8th District)
• Flatbush Development Corporation (45th District)
• East Flatbush Village, Inc. (45th District)
• Rockaway Task Force (32nd District)
• Fifth Avenue Committee (39th District)
• Manhattan Community Board 11 (8th District)
• Manhattan Community Board 7 (8th District)
• Queens Community Board 14 (32nd District)
• Brooklyn Community Board 7 (39th District)
• Brooklyn Community Board 12 (39th District)
• Brooklyn Community Board 14 (45th District)

In addition to these city-wide partners, there are many more people and organizations working in each district to make participatory budgeting a success for their community.