Participatory Budgeting
Pilot - Mecklenburg County, NC
Background
Participatory budgeting is a process that allows community members to determine how to best address the needs of their communities. First, the community turns ideas into actual project proposals. Next the public votes on which projects to fund. Finally, Mecklenburg County allocates budget funds to the winning projects.
This program puts decision-making power into the hands of county residents to direct County budget funds toward community sourced projects. PB Meck allowed community members to identify, discuss, and prioritize public spending, and to address issues in their communities in real time.
Challenges
Engaging the community in an equitable, far-reaching way over long periods of time can be challenging.
What We Did
Civility Localized partnered with VettDeck, a full-service marketing agency, to fulfill a 10-month contract with Mecklenburg County to implement its Pilot Participatory Budgeting Program (PB Meck).
Civility Localized designed and implemented a Community Ambassador Program to reach far into each County district. Civility Localized interviewed, trained, and compensated Community Ambassadors. The Civility Localized team met with County staff & Community Ambassadors throughout the project to maintain project momentum and meet goals.
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