Don

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Dont just sit there!

• On the piece of paper you receive, please
  describe a public experience that changed the way
  you think about and understand democracy or
  equity.

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Building a Democratic CityHow Participatory
Budgeting Can Work in Toronto

• Josh Lerner - March 23, 2004
• Supervisor
• Kanishka Goonewardena
• Prepared for
• City of Toronto Community Engagement Unit

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Todays Agenda

• - Why did I research participatory budgeting in
  Toronto?
• - What is participatory budgeting?
• - Problem 1 Participatory budgeting is used
  to describe or justify almost any type of budget
  process
• - Problem 2 Perception that participatory
  budgeting is not appropriate in Canada
• - Problem 3 Perception that participatory
  budgeting is not appropriate for the Toronto City
  budget

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Why did I research participatory budgeting?

• Democratic deficit
• Government decisions not made in the public
  interest
• Increasing social and economic inequality
• People alienated and detached from government
• People have less control over their lives
• Budgets directly determine how resources are
  distributed

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The Porto Alegre Experience

• Participatory Budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil
• year-long ongoing process
• residents decide capital budget priorities in
  their own neighbourhoods
• elected budget delegates integrate local and
  regional budget priorities into city-wide
  participatory budget
• over 40 million US (20 of total budget)
  allocated each year
• over 50,000 people participate

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Why did I research participatory budgeting in
Toronto?

• Community organizations are organizing and
  advocating for participatory budgeting
• Mayor Miller called for a truly participatory
  budget process
• City organized new Listening to Toronto public
  consultations in January 2004
• Miller announced that the 2005 budget process
  would be more participatory - but how?

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What is participatory budgeting?
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What is participatory budgeting?

• Some very different answers
• The Harris governments tax cuts
• Formal public deputations on budget issues
• Public consultations and focus groups about
  budget issues, such as Listening to Toronto
• What they do in Porto Alegre
• Anything that allows the public to participate in
  a budget-making process
• Direct participation of community groups and
  citizens in the process of setting local
  government budgets

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Problem 1

• Participatory budgeting is used to describe or
  justify almost any type of budget process.

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What I did

• I developed a definition of participatory
  budgeting as a distinct participatory governance
  process.
• synthesizes existing research and experiences
• describes the essential design features and core
  principles of participatory budgeting
• can be adapted to different local contexts

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Main design features

• Democratic structures
• local budgeting units
• regional budgeting units
• city-wide budget council
• Shared responsibilities
• residents decide budget priorities
• elected budget delegates represent residents
• city staff facilitate, provide technical support
• participants oversee the process

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Main design features

• Empowering activities
• popular education
• transparent budget spending criteria
• focus on local direct-impact budget projects

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Core principles

• Democracy
• Equity
• Community
• Education
• Transparency
• Efficiency

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Problem 2

• Perception that participatory budgeting is not
  appropriate in Canada

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What I did

• I profiled two city-wide participatory budgeting
  programs that have worked in Canada
• 1) City of Guelph - Neighbourhood Support
  
• Coalition
• 2) Toronto Community Housing Corporation -
• Community Based Business Planning

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City of Guelph

• Neighbourhood Support Coalition
• Neighbourhood groups deliberate community needs
  and priority projects (peer support groups,
  summer camps, language training)
• Community Services Department and partner
  organizations contribute to Coalition budget
• 35 Neighbourhood delegates and partner
  organization representatives meet to decide which
  projects are funded
• Participants annually allocate 600,000 to over
  400 community activities

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Toronto Community Housing

• Community Based Business Planning
• Tenants deliberate priority projects for their
  own buildings and grounds (new stoves,
  playgrounds, roof renovations)
• Building delegates deliberate project funding at
  Regional Community Forums and then a city-wide
  Budget Council
• During 3-year budget cycle, 18 million allocated
  on 237 projects
• Over 6000 tenants participated

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In their own words

• This is the hardest thing to do. There are a lot
  of emotions here at the table. - Guelph
  Neighbourhood Group representative
• Each Group is individual but yet when we come to
  the table, we need to advocate and make decisions
  based on the good of the whole. I now understand
  the statement, what is good for you is also good
  for me. - Guelph representative
• Staff were shocked by how much we had to offer!
  - TCHC resident
• Once everybody gave a little bit, we all came
  together as a community. - TCHC resident

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Problem 3

• Perception that participatory budgeting is not
  appropriate for the Toronto City budget

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What I did

• Identified potential benefits
• Identified potential problems and ways to
  overcome them
• Compared the current budget process with
  participatory budgeting
• Proposed a model for participatory budgeting in
  Toronto
• Proposed next steps for moving towards
  participatory budgeting

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Recommendations and next steps

• Community education and consciousness
• 1) Sponsor community workshops on participatory
  budgeting
• 2) Organize a visioning exercise for the 2005
  budget process
• 3) Establish neighbourhood budget groups

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Recommendations and next steps

• City staff capacity
• 1) Host a participatory budgeting workshop for
  City staff
• 2) Initiate a facilitator training program
• 3) Research additional participatory budgeting
  programs
• 4) Hire new participatory budgeting staff

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Recommendations and next steps

• Pilot programs
• 1) Organize pilot program in a specific
  geographic area
• 2) Organize pilot program in a specific city
  program or service
• 3) Encourage special purpose bodies to implement
  participatory budgeting
• 4) Encourage independent Toronto organizations to
  implement participatory budgeting

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Questions?