The Richmond People’s Budget is seeking ideas on how to spend $3 million
For the first time, Richmond residents can help decide how a portion of the city’s budget should be spent.
The Richmond People’s Budget is $3 million allocated from existing capital improvement funds, an idea City Council approved after beginning discussions about five years ago.
“This is money that was already going to go into doing projects in the community,” said Leidiana Delagado, civic engagement coordinator for the Council. “Unlike most processes where government officials or other folks would be saying what exactly the community needs and when, this is an opportunity for residents to say, ‘We need this here, now.’”
Richmonders interested in submitting ideas for how the money should be spent can do so online or in person at any Richmond library until the end of the month.
“Some folks have really never been asked how they would improve their community,” Delgado said. “We're really hoping that the community comes and gives the best ideas that they have for their neighborhoods, for their districts. I think this is a really unique way that people directly connect to local government in a way that we haven't before.”
The money can go towards any physical project on city property, like new bus stops and bus shelters, sidewalks, murals and monuments. The city has received nearly 800 ideas so far.
The next step is to create a committee made up of three delegates from each district. Delegates, who can be anyone in the city 14 and older residing in the district they will represent, will narrow down the list to 10 to 15 ideas per district, to be voted on in April.
The pool of $3 million will be divided among districts according to need, based on the RVAgreen 2050 social vulnerability map. Districts 1, 2 and 4 will receive the base allocation of $200,000 each, while Districts 3, 5 and 7 will get $300,000, and Districts 6, 8 and 9 will receive $500,000.
Richmonder Staff
“We determined that those are the districts that have the highest social vulnerability in the city and have not been historically as invested in, so they should be receiving the majority of the funds,” Delgado said.
The voting process is open to anyone 14 and older who lives, works or studies in the city, regardless of immigration and post-incarceration status.
“You're eligible to submit an idea with the district that you're affiliated with, and you're also able to vote in the district that you're affiliated with,” Delgado said. “If you're a student at VCU or an employee at City Hall, you should also have a say in what goes on in the Richmond community.”
The People’s Budget is modeled after a participatory budgeting process in Durham, North Carolina. Richmond is the first city in Virginia to implement it. The process functions in two-year cycles, allowing for a year of engagement, idea collection and voting, followed by a year of enacting the projects. The next two cycles are funded, with $5 million and $7 million allocated, respectively.
The first projects could begin as soon as next summer.
Delgado said it’s possible some projects may take longer than a year to execute, but the goal is to keep residents informed throughout the process.
“We want to set up project trackers, so the community knows if something is delayed, when something is starting, if there's a permit or vendor issue,” she said. “We want to make sure that folks know what's going on and they have access to that information so they can continue to trust and ensure the process is going correctly.”
