Comment 93303

By Borrelli (registered) | Posted October 15, 2013 at 14:33:55

"(This process) acts as a survey and poll of what people are thinking about. It really gives you a sense for where people's heads are at."

The process in Ward 1 is largely held online and somewhat more streamlined than in Ward 2, which relies on in-person democracy at every step to elect neighbourhood councils, choose projects and vote.

As a big-time supporter of the Ward 2 process, I have to quibble and note these quotes illustrate perfectly why Councillor McHattie's "PB" is just straight-up budget consultation, not participatory budgeting.

The whole point of PB is for it to be bottom-up, citizen led participation (discussed among citizens in assemblies), not Councillor-led rubber-stamping of spending ideas. This is a democracy & councillors should be doing this consultation anyway, so I see this more as marketing by the councillor, not deep citizen engagement.

And despite having to digest more of M.A.W.'s banal anti-tax trolling, he's right about the "chosen few." McHattie and his appointees have owned this process from Day One, and it's pretty much PB in name only.

Comment edited by Borrelli on 2013-10-15 14:34:54

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