Participatory budgeting: Sacramento’s people should decide how to spend Measure U funds

Measure U came with a powerful promise and commitment to invest in the city’s underserved and underrepresented neighborhoods and small businesses, and to revitalize commercial corridors and expand much needed youth programming.

That commitment is falling short.

In November 2018, 57 percent of Sacramento voters took a leap of faith and supported Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s ambitious vision — even as many worried out loud that the money had been promised three times over.

Seeking to safeguard community trust and be actively engaged in the “citizen oversight” Measure U promised to deliver, I applied for and, was appointed to, the Measure U Community Advisory Committee.

I watched with interest as city leadership expanded their Economic Development office and hired consultants to help them define inclusive economic development and develop a process by which people and organizations could apply for funding to support programs, services and people living and working in all neighborhoods. But our understanding was always that those most adversely affected by racial and economic disparities would move to the front of the line. The process closed in late January and, given the intervening crises, our committee has yet to see and review the proposals that have been submitted.

Meanwhile, city leaders recently passed a budget for fiscal year 2020-2021 without meaningful input from the Community Advisory Committee on the Measure U expenditures being made nor how those priorities were determined.

We were assured better communication and more transparency around Measure U moving forward but, with public confidence shaken, we need something more concrete.

In February, our committee voted to support an exciting proposal to use a modest portion of Measure U funds for participatory budgeting, a democratic process whereby city residents help determine the focus and priorities of a city’s budget.

Recognizing that local people often have far better knowledge and expertise about their needs and ideas about how to meet them than anyone else, the Measure U committee sent a letter to the City Council requesting that at least $5 million of Measure U funds be set aside to ensure that an inclusive process be implemented using the participatory budgeting approach and that recommendations be binding.

We are not aware that our letter was ever reviewed or considered.

Now is the time to empower real people with direct control over a portion of the budget. We have the opportunity to restore community faith by trusting our community with real money.

Leaders in more than 3,000 cities and municipalities have implemented participatory budgeting as a way to listen to citizens, build relationships between citizens and city leadership and, perhaps most importantly, build budgets that reflect and align with the values of community residents, particularly those whose voices are not typically included nor heard.

As cities and communities across the country demand that budgets be radically restructured, now is a perfect time for Sacramento to embrace and embed participatory budgeting.

The positive impacts are clear: Data details increased resident engagement, including youth and adults from diverse racial and economic neighborhoods, to create real solutions to cities’ pressing issues. The cost to implement participatory budgeting averages $31,000 per 100,000 residents.

We believe that Measure U funds can and should be used to intentionally and strategically address economic disparities based on systemic and institutionalized racism within and across neighborhoods. We must begin to radically reimagine how we structure our funding. Sacramento has the chance to lead the nation in economic inclusion.

Our city leaders should:

▪ Allocate $15 million dollars in this budget year to let residents determine how to spend this portion of Measure U tax revenue and increase this investment annually until they dedicate 50 percent of revenue from the second half cent sales tax.

▪ Agree, as a demonstration of good faith, to make the participatory budget funding priorities binding.

▪ Incorporate participatory budgeting into the city’s charter.

The time is now. Lets allow residents to determine how to spend this portion of Measure U tax revenue funds and model real community engagement.

This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 5:00 AM.