This discussion was from the CCOC (Common Council Organizational Committee), two days before the Mayor discussion on the budget There’s a little discussion about this on thedailypage forum, which I don’t really totally understand what they are talking about, I don’t know if its about this discussion below, or this post or information from this post. Either way, it started out mis-informed and has just twisted all the facts. (Shocking! I know!) So, here’s the discussion that was had about participatory budgeting.
Marsha Rummel explains she wants a discussion about participatory budgeting. She says some people went to some of the stuff at the capitol and invited Joe Moore form Chicago, there they have pots of money, but he did an exercise where informed constituents that they had money and asked them how to do participatory budgeting. Mayor Dave had that idea early on, but only nonprofits showed up. They said we do good work and we need money, but how will we engage people to say more police and libraries but won’t give up “this”. To what extent do we have a process of our own, maybe on regional basis give people input on what is important to them. Some would never pave a road and then some would pave over the entire district. Soglin says he wanted to get alders and staff to talk and start sooner, she asked how to engage the public. He didn’t want the public going in without sense of repercussions for their decisions. Soglin said I’m working it, which to me said go away. I’m not sure if we want to do an exercise as a collective or invite Moore from Chicago to talk more. Its an interesting idea, its hard to go through budgets, everything looks good if you’re a liberal type, but at some point there is not enough money to do it all.
Lisa Veldran the council staff says she did some research on ward 49.
Rummel says if people are interested she would like to work on it but if not, then forget it. She wants as a council to work on the budget, can we set priorities.
Larry Palm says that its wonderful anytime we engage people.
Lauren Cnare says that they will make this a future agenda item, it will be on the next agenda, but since we are all taking on Thursday on policy, in a philosophic manner, she would encourage her to bring it up in context of other discussion.
Rummel says she has to come late and leave early – she has to work.
Palm asks if Board of Estimates should discuss it too?
Veldran suggests cc’ing Dean Brasser on the information.
King asks to get mayor Dave’s, the budget game, he wants to see what they did, it did do some of what you are talking about.
Shiva Bidar-Sielaff says the mayor will get info on what his process will be.
Rummel says says maybe it will work on the operating budget – but then comes back to nonprofits and not the capital budget.
That was about it.
However . . . at some point, both Sue Ellingson and Chris Schmidt also talked about the presentation by Joe Moore, I think it might have been at points where the meeting was more out of order and everyone was talking over each other. I don’t know where this discussion will go given the Mayor’s discussion about process. I guess we’ll see if it makes it on the next agenda.
