Login

I’m trying to understand how my local council’s new participatory budgeting process actually works, but the meeting I attended felt more like a box-ticking exercise than a real chance to influence spending. Has anyone else had a similar experience with these public consultations, and did you find a way to make your voice actually count?

I went to a participatory budgeting session last year and it felt like a parade of good ideas with a closed loop. People spoke, then the facilitator noted the concerns, and later the panel announced the shortlist as if it had always been decided. The room was hot and the coffee tasted like it had been sitting there since morning, which probably didn't help anyone stay engaged. It left me frustrated but curious about whether any of our concrete asks ever moved the needle.

I tried to make it count by taking notes, bringing a few data points about afterschool program usage, and emailing a concise summary to the clerk after the meeting. They said there would be a follow up session, and I showed up with a one page proposal, but it still felt like it ran on rails.

Maybe the process is more about building legitimacy than changing spend, like a veil for the decision already baked in. People bring new ideas, but the budget line is already slotted. I don't know how you'd measure impact without access to the scoring criteria.

Is the real problem that the issue you want funded isn't what actually gets debated, or that turnout isn't translating into influence?

Login
Username:
Password:	Lost Password?
	Remember me