San Francisco is rolling out a new “participatory budgeting” initiative that would allow residents to choose how the city spends its tax dollars. The online voting process would be the first major U.S. city to use citizen crowdsourcing to make and improve policy decisions. According to a recent article in TechCrunch, “[The city’s plan] is for each city district to vote on $100,000 in expenditures. Citizens will get to choose how the money is spent from a list of options, similar to the way they already vote from a list of ballot propositions. Topical experts will help San Francisco residents deliberate online.” This is a great example of how the United States is starting to use online tools to engage people in a way that impacts their lives. If the model can work in San Francisco, the rest of the country could be well on its way to a truly democratic government.
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Tag: city budget
How “Outcome Budgeting” Made Baltimore America’s Forwardest-Thinking Budgeter
After Detroit, city budgets are getting a lot tighter, and a lot more attention. One city that’s doing its budgets right is Baltimore. Since the recession, Baltimore’s been able to boost its savings balance while attracting new residents by lowering property taxes. The city calls its approach “Outcome Budgeting”, which has spread to other cities like Lincoln, Neb., and Richmond, Va. It essentially means taking the long view of fiscal planning. Under current Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, budget shortfall has decreased by almost $100 million. The crucial question is whether the long game will persist across different mayoral terms; Rawlings-Blake’s first term is up next year.