AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/tag/participatory-budgeting/)
Though votes are still being tallied, more West Side residents took part this year than in past years. They’re helping decide how $1.5 million in “menu money” will be spent.
Sixty percent of the $1 million will go to street repairs and resurfacing in the ward. The rest of the projects to be funded – and listed here in order of popularity – are: street safety upgrades, community gardens, a fitness course at the Austin Town Hall, bike lanes, a mural in Columbus Park and public art at Sayre Language Academy. Nearly 400 residents voted this time around.
Residents of the 29th Ward have until Jan. 29th to vote on how $1 million in menu money will be spent. In addition to street repairs and surfacing, the money will be allocated for community projects. Residents will be able to choose up to five of seven projects, which include public art, community gardens, speed bumps and a fitness course at Austin Town Hall.
Residents of the 29th Ward will soon have the opportunity to vote on how to spend about $1 million in their community. The goal is for residents to be able to vote on several possible projects before the end of January.
West Side residents have until Sept. 19 to submit their ideas on how the “menu money” should be spent. Community volunteers and Ald. Chris Taliaferro’s office will whittle down the suggestions for residents to vote on in coming months.
29th Ward residents approved six out of seven projects that will be completed over the next several months. The projects include street resurfacing, community park improvements and a pedestrian crosswalk, with a safety island.
Voting will be available to any resident of the 29th Ward who is 14 or older. Ballots will be available online on Ald. Chris Taliaferro’s website and in person at his office, 6272 W. North Ave.; at the Austin Chicago Public Library, 5615 W. Race Ave.; and at the North Austin Chicago Public Library, 5724 W. North Ave. Voting ends Nov. 20.
Ald. Chris Taliaferro will be hosting a discussion on participatory budgeting in the 29th Ward. Residents will have a chance sometime in November to vote on the projects they think should be funded out of the alderman’s “menu money.”
The first of three meetings being held to discuss which neighborhood projects should be funded with “menu money” is set for June 14 at Amundsen Park. Two other gatherings are planned for Rutherford-Sayre Park and the Columbus Park Refectory later this month.
Ald. Chris Taliaferro says $700,000 in funding will pay for six projects – ranging from community gardens and murals to pedestrian islands and park equipment. Six months of community meetings and two weeks of voting determined how the menu money will be spent.