Sean Belk:
Staff Writer
Joni Ricks-Oddie, second from left, a community volunteer who spearheaded a steering committee to organize the “Empower Uptown Participatory Budgeting” process in the 9th Council District, talks with residents during the launch of the voting process at the Houghton Park Community Center on Saturday, March 21.
A group of students brainstormed the project after canvassing members of the community and students on campus, noting that having a new digital marquee would promote school spirit and community events as well. And, for the first time in Long Beach’s history, students’ voices will be heard as part of the City’s annual budget process this year.
The new marquee, expected to cost $80,000 to $100,000, is one of 11 projects being considered by 9th District residents as part of a new concept, known as “participatory budgeting” (PB), a groundbreaking democratic process that seeks to involve a broader spectrum of residents and stakeholders in allocating government funds.
After nearly nine months of collaborating with volunteers, stakeholders and consultants, the 9th District Council office launched the “Empower Uptown Participatory Budgeting” process on Saturday, March 21, allowing residents age 14 and older to directly vote on how to spend $250,000 in city-infrastructure funds.
According to the 9th District Council office, Long Beach now joins the City of Vallejo as the second city in California to implement PB while Chicago and New York City have already been implementing the process as well. Long Beach is the first city in Southern California to implement PB, the 9th District Council office states.
Consultants who worked on the voting methodology in Long Beach point out that the PB process enables residents, who would otherwise not be legally allowed to vote in regular elections, such as ex-convicts and undocumented individuals, to have a voice in what projects are being funded in their neighborhoods.
Residents selected four projects during the voting launch at the Houghton Park Community Center, where different poster boards displayed details of each proposal.
Ninth District Councilmember Rex Richardson said at the event last Saturday that the new budgeting concept will give residents in the 9th District a “larger voice” when it comes time for the City Council to approve the budget before the next fiscal year, which starts on Oct. 1.
“For a long time, squeaky wheels have always been in certain areas of the town— east side [and] the downtown,” Richardson said. “As it related to allocation of resources, [the 9th District] never really received [its] slice of the pie, because folks didn’t see us as a community that spoke up and advocated on behalf of itself. That’s changed.”
The PB budgeting process in the 9th District was funded through a grant from the California Endowment, a private, health-based foundation. The process started through the creation of the Empower Uptown Steering Committee that consisted of community members and stakeholders. The committee worked together with various community groups and city officials to form a list of nearly 175 projects that need funding in the 9th District. Those projects were then narrowed down through a vetting process to just 11 “shovel-ready” projects, which residents and stakeholders voted on this week.
Projects included adding a Class-2 bike lane down Artesia Boulevard that would cost nearly $800,000, planting 40 trees on South Street at a cost of nearly $25,000, installing security cameras for $100,000 and placing lighting at alleys for $60,000.
Benjamin Miranda, a Jordan High School student who worked with other students to come up with two proposals that included the new marquee and installing solar lights at DeForest Park, said he was honored to be a part of the PB process, adding that it gives youth a chance to participate in the community.
“It’s a great opportunity for the youth because we never really have a say of what’s happening in our community,” Miranda said. “After this, I can’t wait for PB next year, when we have bigger and better ideas, and we’re going to have a little bit more control of what’s happening.”
Richardson said other Council districts in the city are taking note of the PB process, adding that Mayor Robert Garcia and city officials are also looking at ways to possibly be able to use the process in allocating federal community development block grants (CDGB) funds.
Ninth District Councilmember Rex Richardson speaks to a crowd of residents at the Houghton Park Community Center during the launch of the district’s participatory budgeting process on March 21.
“What happens in your neighborhood affects you the most and, certainly, what happens in your city,” he said. “I think if you get them involved young, they stay involved.”
For more information, visit insidedistrict9.com/empoweruptown or call (562) 570-6137. ß
