~ Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has announced the launch of the city's first participatory budgeting initiative, "Ideas in Action." This program will allow all Boston residents to have a say in how a portion of the city's budget is spent by proposing and voting on project ideas that will benefit the community. The initiative has been allocated a total of $2 million.

According to Mayor Wu, participatory budgeting will bring residents and families directly into the democratic process and give them a voice in deciding how their tax dollars are used. She believes that this process will encourage civic engagement across all generations and neighborhoods.

Renato Castelo, Director of the Office of Participatory Budgeting, expressed his excitement about leading this new way for residents to get involved in city government. He emphasized that resident perspectives will be crucial in guiding funding decisions and shaping future budget investments. Castelo encouraged everyone to participate in this initiative.

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The idea for participatory budgeting in Boston originated from a community effort that led to a ballot measure being approved by voters in the 2021 Municipal Election. The ordinance establishing the Office of Participatory Budgeting was adopted by Mayor Wu and the City Council in spring 2023.

For its pilot year, the Office of Participatory Budgeting is partnering with community organizations to engage residents who have faced barriers to civic participation in the past. The city is seeking resident input until July 31 through various methods such as submitting project ideas online, calling a multilingual PB phone line, visiting public libraries or City Hall, attending idea collection workshops organized by nonprofits, or hosting their own workshop using the PB Workshop Toolkit.

Residents are also encouraged to stay involved in future steps of this initiative. In October-November 2024, they can attend Visioning Forums and provide feedback online to help determine which ideas make it onto the final project ballot. In January 2025, residents will vote on their top five project ideas to be funded. The winning projects will then be implemented, and progress will be shared through the Office of Participatory Budgeting's website and annual report.

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The Office of Participatory Budgeting has formally adopted its Rulebook for the first cycle of the program with guidance from its External Oversight Board and public input. This Rulebook outlines the policies and procedures for the participatory budgeting process and will guide its implementation in Boston moving forward. It is available to download in various languages on the city's website.

Participatory Budgeting aligns with Boston's goals of promoting civic engagement and community collaboration by addressing barriers to public participation in decision-making, elevating resident-informed project ideas, and bringing communities and city government together to create a collective vision for the city.

Boston has had a similar program called Youth Lead the Change (YLC) since 2014, which allows young people to decide how $1 million of the city's capital budget is spent in their communities. This initiative has been successful in empowering youth and giving them a voice in local government decisions.

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