Raleigh is giving its neighborhoods $1 million. How would you spend it in yours?
Ever wish your neighborhood park had more shade?
Ever tripped on a broken sidewalk, or wished you could tell the city to turn some tennis courts into pickleball courts?
Now’s your chance..
Raleigh is launching a $1 million participatory budget program that lets the public directly influence how the city spends a portion of the public’s money.
“The city of Raleigh hasn’t had an opportunity to really give residents power over how to spend money,” said Sadia Sattar, the city’s budget director.
This past summer, the Raleigh City Council approved a $1.26 billion budget for fiscal 2023-24. The city held listening sessions and a required public hearing to get feedback on the budget.
And, for the first time, people were asked what projects they’d like to see funded using $1 million of the budget.
“We are sort of dipping our toe into the participatory-budget waters,” Sattar said. “So we are giving folks an opportunity to directly impact how money is going to be spent in their communities.”
How does it work?
The city of Raleigh is divided into five geographic regions:
- District A or north Raleigh
- District B or northeast Raleigh
- District C or southeast Raleigh
- District D or southwest Raleigh
- District E or northwest Raleigh
Each district will get $200,000, and each person who votes is asked to fill in the survey for their district.
To confirm which district you live in, visit raleighnc.gov, and type in your address under the “Services” section.
What can I vote on?
The listening sessions helped produce a list of possible projects to vote for. Each district has the same list.
It includes projects such as a new dog park, community gardens, grants for nonprofits, shade for playgrounds and fixing “micro gaps” in sidewalks near greenways.
There’is also a suggestion section where you can nominate your own project.
How to vote?
Voting is open now and lasts until Dec. 31.
People can find the survey at raleighnc.gov/engage-city/services/vote-fund-projects-your-district
Why $1 million?
The idea was to start small, and $1 million is often the first amount that cities use when launching a program, Sattar said, including in Philadelphia where she previously worked.
“It’s a healthy amount to really see where folks want to see those priorities focused around in their communities,” she said.
In 2018, Durham became the second city in North Carolina to offer participatory budgeting after Greensboro, which started its program in 2014.
Now, Durham is on its third cycle, with past projects funding an LGBTQ youth center, better bus shelters, school technology improvements and improved accessibility ramps.
This story was originally published October 31, 2023 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Raleigh is giving its neighborhoods $1 million. How would you spend it in yours?."
