On Saturday, Port Moody residents who attend a meeting at city hall will be able to vote on which community programs deserve grants, with $30,000 in taxpayer dollars at stake.
Groups are expected to vie for between $1,000 and $5,000 for their pet projects and need to garner enough votes from participants to win.
According to the city, which learned about the idea of participatory budgeting at a recent Union of BC Municipalities convention, the pilot project is an attempt at giving back some decision-making power to the citizens.
While some groups might be uncomfortable at having to plead for votes and having to rally the troops to win, there is some merit to the idea of giving taxpayers a limited say in specific spending.
In future, however, to ensure more people get involved, an expo where groups introduce themselves to the community over a longer period might be a good first step.
There is also the risk that good programs with longstanding merit in the community will lose out to an upstart with a flashier presentation and more vocal supporters.
Despite this risk, the project is an interesting way to get people engaged in the budgeting process.
