City budgeting usually elicits all the excitement of watching eggs fry but this Saturday's participatory budget session in Port Moody is likely to get unusually animated.
That's because 11 groups will be vying for grants of between $1,000 to $5,000 — and appealing to the public for support.
The group with the most public votes after presentations are completed will get the money based on the category they have entered.
And as is usually the case with city budgeting, funding requests exceed the dollars available, with $30,000 to divvy up compared to $35,800 in requests.
The pilot project in participatory democracy is an attempt by the city to experiment with an idea that is being tried in various cities around the world, from Porto Alegre, Brazil and Valleo, Cal. to Victoria and Tofino in B.C.
"Council was adamant they didn't want to make decisions around this, they want community to decide," said Paul Rockwood, the city's general manager of financial services.
The idea of participatory budgeting has been around for a number of years and was discussed at a Union of BC Municipalities convention in 2015. Rockwood said PoMo councillors wanted to try out the idea and thought that the community grants program would be a good place to start.
Typically, councillors make the decisions based on community appeals; now, people who turn up the Feb. 18 session (1 to 3 p.m. in the Inlet Theatre at city hall) will get to make the tough calls on spending.
The idea, according to the city, is to enable the community to set priorities and make decisions about money, shifting some of the decision-making from elected officials to residents.
In Brazil, citizens participate in budget decisions through a year-long process and in Vallejo, in northern California, participatory budgeting was used to approve public projects ranging from community gardens to park rehabilitation. Similar, grant programs were decided by the public in Tofino with the community participating in a voting expo.
Rockwood said members of the public have to be in the room to vote and those eligible include citizens 12 years and older, and can include those who are presenting.
Among the groups seeking grants are PoCoMo Meals on Wheels, Port Moody Aquarians Swim Club and the Eagle Mountain District Girl Guides.
