“ForWard One”

[feather_share show="twitter, google_plus, facebook, reddit, tumblr" hide="pinterest, linkedin, mail"]

Every year, Ward One residents have the opportunity to voice their input on how the Ward Councillor should spend $1.5 million dedicated to infrastructure projects through participatory budgeting. Twenty community members, including a representative from the MSU, are appointed to a Participatory Budgeting Advisory Committee that oversees the process.

Starting in April of 2011, the Ward One Area Rating Funding was put in place as a means of aiding in infrastructure investments. Ward One was the first Hamilton region to adopt the method of participatory budgeting to engage community members in government decisions that directly impacts their quality of life.

Anyone can submit suggestions for projects they would like to see supported by the ForWard One fund. Submissions can be completed online or in person at Westdale Library, Locke St. Library and other brick and mortar locations throughout Hamilton. Submissions are due March 25, after which Ward One residents are able to vote on the options from May 16 to June 3. A public discussion is held between the submission period and the voting period in order to facilitate conversation about the options put forth. The votes are then processed by the PBAC and submitted to the Councillor as suggestions, which are taken to Council for final approval.

“There are sometimes modifications [to projects] because there is higher citizen involvement in some neighbourhoods of Ward One than others, a process meant to correct for any unequal partitioning of projects,” said Ward One’s Dale Brown.

Hamilton residents may recognize some previous ForWard One projects around the neighbourhood. Those who have hiked the stairs going up the mountain near the golf course may have stopped to drink from the newest water fountain, and those walking by Cootes Paradise Elementary may have seen their new natural playground.

While $1.5 million may seem like a lot, when put towards ambitious projects, it can be stretched pretty thin. A suggestion that has gained a lot of support in the past is the construction of a Pedestrian Bridge to Bayfront from Locke Street North. To the disappointment of those that voted for the Pedestrian Bridge, it is not likely to be something that is ever realized. Instead, smaller but much needed projects have been supported by a fraction of the Ward One Reinvestment Fund. Community members have welcomed the recent addition of bike lanes on Longwood Road North and pedestrian activated crosswalks at Locke and Hunter. The changes can be so small that those without knowledge of their history might never notice; yet they are much needed improvements to the ward’s infrastructure.

This year the initiative will allow for the use of $3 million, as the project was put on hold last year and the money transferred over.

The initiative is novel in its use of community input to make decisions, and this system of participatory budgeting was adopted by the MSU more recently.

Brown recognizes that despite its benefits, the system is not perfect. “It is always a challenge because of the timeline, because [students] end school in April and [the initiative] operates until June, making it challenging for students who have headed off for the summer to vote. We are cognizant of that but have not yet figured out how to fix it, because we also have deadlines that we have to meet for the city.”

[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]