Politics.be - Directe Democratie in Chicago

Een experiment met directe burgerparticipatie voor budget toewijzing.

http://www.participedia.net/wiki/Chi...geting_Project

Het is maar in een stadsdeel(tje) maar het gaat wel over $1.3 million dollars

Citaat:

As the first ward-based participatory budgeting experiment in the United States, the Participatory Budgeting Initiative in Chicago's 49th Ward began in November of 2009 with the goal of directly allocating a portion of the Alderman’s capital budget for the 49th Ward by residents. Citizens gathered to discuss, deliberate, and vote into implementation projects totaling $1.3 million dollars. Forming six themed committees of 16-20 residents each, the participants created 36 proposals to better the Ward’s infrastructure. In April of 2010 these proposals were voted on by the 49th Ward’s residents, resulting in the recommendation of 14 of the original committee proposals to the City of Chicago.

The purpose of this process was to allocate $1.3 million dollars to infrastructure improvements in the 49th Ward of Chicago. More specifically, this amount is the “menu money,” or discretionary funds, that each alderman receives to spend on solely infrastructure projects. The 49th Ward has 60,000 residents, and is known for its diversity and independent-minded citizens. With the public’s confidence in government and civic participation on the decline, Alderman Joe Moore decided to turn part of the budgeting process over to the residents directly in hopes of better serving their needs. Instead of a frustrating competition for funds among corporations and politicians, the participatory budgeting process allows residents to decide for themselves what is important to them and how their tax dollars should be spent. The decisions reached through this process are intended to result in direct implementation and action by the City of Chicago. If the participatory budgeting process is successful for the 49th Ward, Alderman Moore pledged to make it a permanent fixture of the community.

Paul