About Participatory Budgeting
Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a democratic process where community members decide how to allocate part of a public budget. Participatory budgeting began in 1989 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and it has since been adopted by thousands of cities around the world. PB has been implemented in California cities including Vallejo, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and Long Beach, as well as Marin and Monterey Counties. The Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC) has implemented participatory budgeting as part of the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program in Greenfield, Soledad, King City, Greenfield, and unincorporated North Monterey County communities. TAMC’s participatory budgeting process is led by the SRTS Steering Committee with help and technical support from TAMC staff. The SRTS Steering Committee leads a community-wide election, and members of the public vote on their top priority safe routes to school projects.
Read TAMC’s report: Participatory Budgeting Guide
TAMC’s Participatory Budgeting Election Materials
Salinas Valley
Salinas Valley Participatory Budgeting Handbook (Gonzales)
Greenfield
Greenfield Steering Committee Meeting Syllabus (ES+EN)
Greenfield PB Voter Guide (EN)
Soledad
Soledad Steering Committee Meeting Syllabus (ES + EN)
King City
King City Steering Committee Meeting Syllabus (EN+ES)
Gonzales
Gonzales Meeting Syllabus (EN+ES)
North Monterey County
NoMoCo Participatory Budgeting Handbook
Additional Participatory Budgeting Resources
TAMC used the Stanford Participatory Budgeting Platform to host the online ballots for free.
The Participatory Budgeting Project creates and supports PB efforts.
Learn More
Best Practices for Inclusive Participatory Budgeting – Urban Institute
