Description
The City of Cambridge will launch its third Participatory Budgeting (PB) cycle from June-December 2016. Participatory Budgeting is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget.
For this next process, the City will set aside $700,000 for capital projects to improve the community. Winning projects from past PB cycles include a public toilet in Central Square, bike repair stations, a freezer van for prepared food rescue, water bottle fill stations, bilingual books for children learning English, and many others.
We are seeking volunteers to serve on the PB Outreach Committee to help ensure that the PB process is inclusive, transparent, and engages as many community members as possible.
Outreach Committee Responsibilities include:
- Attending outreach strategy sessions in May, June, August, and November;
- Promoting PB through your networks, social media, and at community events;
- Setting up and volunteering for at least two idea collection events in June/July;
- Recruiting volunteers to serve as Budget Delegates;
- Preparing voting materials (ballots, surveys, project posters) with Budget Delegates in November;
- Setting up and volunteering for at least two voting events in December.
The Outreach Committee orientation meeting will be held Tuesday, May 24, from 6-7:30 p.m., at Central Square Library, 45 Pearl St., Cambridge. See the Outreach Committee schedule at: http://pb.cambridgema.gov/volunteer2
If you are interested in serving on the PB Cambridge Outreach Committee, please RSVP online here or contact Michelle Monsegur in the Budget Office at pb@cambridgema.gov or 617-349-3266.
For more information about the PB process or visit pb.cambridgema.gov.