KINGSTON – The City of Kingston’s 2019 participatory budgeting project survey is now available for city residents to take: 2019 Participatory Budgeting Project Survey.
The survey includes all the proposed projects submitted by residents either online, by mail, or at one of the three public workshops held throughout the city in July, and also includes projects proposed but not chosen in 2018. Voting is open for residents who live, work or play in the three business districts.
“In this year’s budget we set aside $20,000 for each of the three business districts to be spent however the community decides,” said Mayor Steven Noble. “We hope everyone will weigh in on projects they would like to see happen in their neighborhood.”
The mayor noted city residents can vote in more than one district, so if you work in Uptown but live in Midtown, you may vote for your favorite projects in both polls.
The deadline to complete the 2019 Participatory Budgeting Survey is Friday, September 6, 2019 at 5 p.m.
Participatory Budgeting is a process in which city residents directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. For the pilot project in 2018, $15,000 was set aside for improvements or projects in each business district (Uptown, Midtown and Downtown), for a total investment of $45,000 to be decided by the public. These funds were allocated based on revenue received from off-street parking fees. In the 2019 budget, Mayor Noble set aside $20,000 for each district, for a total of $60,000.
Projects submitted for consideration in this participatory budgeting process will be reviewed by city departments for feasibility and cost estimates. Some projects may be able to be funded through alternative funding sources and/or may be included in future grant applications.
If selected projects do not require the full $20,000 allotment, it is possible multiple projects could be chosen within one district.
More information at: www.kingston-ny.gov/ParticipatoryBudgeting
