Loading...
(A) The purpose of the Office is to further public engagement and direct democratic involvement, and to align with the city’s goals of achieving and embedding equity and inclusion into city practices, and building collective capacity on issues of racial and social justice.
(B) Participatory budgeting in city spending will provide an official point of entry for residents to contribute to the city’s budget process. To accomplish this purpose, the Office, in partnership with the Board, shall create and oversee an equitable and binding decision-making process open to all city residents by Fiscal Year 2024, consistent with M.G.L. Chapter 44, Section 53 (“the Participatory Budgeting Process”). The Office shall build partnerships with other City Departments and Agencies, external organizations, and community representatives to promote year-round public involvement and engagement with the Participatory Budgeting Process. The Office shall establish an equitable and binding method of city resident engagement.
(Ord. 2023 c. 2)
The Director shall have the power to appoint staff members, as appropriate, and shall be responsible for the daily management and operations of the Office and staff members. The Director shall administer the participatory budgeting process consistent with this Section.
(Ord. 2023 c. 2)
(A) The Board shall consist of nine city residents with experience and expertise in various topics relevant to participatory budgeting, including, but not limited to, community investment and development, public finance, open space, urban planning, community organization and outreach, affordable housing, public education, public health, environmental protection and historic preservation, and a demonstrated history of civic involvement in their local communities. The Mayor, or his or her designee, shall solicit applications for Board membership, which shall require a statement of interest from the applicant.
(B) The selection of the nine Board members will be as follows.
(1) All potential nominations must include an application of interest addressed to the Mayor, or his or her designee, for review.
(2) The Mayor will appoint five individuals to the Oversight Board.
(3) The Mayor will appoint four individuals to the Oversight Board from a pool of eight applicants provided by the Boston City Council.
(C) Board members shall reflect the diversity of the city. All Board members shall be residents of the city. Board members may not include city employees or city-elected officials.
(D) The Mayor shall appoint all members of the Board for two-year terms, and no Board member shall serve more than three consecutive terms; provided that members may continue to serve until their replacement is appointed. Vacancies in Board membership shall be filled in the same manner in which members are appointed. If a vacancy should arise and a new member is appointed to serve a partial term of less than two years, that partial term shall not count against the three-year term limit.
(E) The Board members shall be deemed to be Special Municipal Employees for the purposes of M.G.L. Chapter 268A.
(Ord. 2023 c. 2)
(A) The Board, by majority vote, shall elect two of its members as Chair and Co-Chair on an annual basis. In the event both Chairs are unavailable, the most senior member in tenure of the Board shall chair the Board.
(B) Five members shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of convening a meeting and of conducting the business of the Oversight Board. The Board shall approve its actions by majority vote of the quorum.
(C) All records of the Office and Board shall be public unless an exemption applies under the commonwealth’s Public Records Law, being M.G.L. Chapter 66, Section 10.
(D) The Board shall serve without compensation, but each commissioner shall be entitled to his or her reasonable expenses actually and necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties as Board members, as defined by the Rule Book. These expenditures shall be paid from the budget of the Office of Participatory Budget.
(Ord. 2023 c. 2)
(A) Consult with staff in the Office of Participatory Budgeting to create, formally adopt and annually review, amend or update Boston’s Participatory Budgeting Rule Book (the “Rule Book”).
(B) Request and receive relevant information for the oversight of the participatory budgeting process from the Director of the Office of Participatory Budgeting as well as other city officials and employees.
(C) At the end of each fiscal year, create an annual review of the participatory budgeting process for review by the Mayor and City Council and accessible to the public.
(D) Review candidates and provide recommendations to the Mayor for appointing the Director of Office of Participatory Budgeting.
(E) Based on the outcome of the Participatory Budgeting Process, the Board, in partnership with the Director, shall submit project proposals to the Mayor consistent with the legal authority of the city for public spending.
(Ord. 2023 c. 2)
(A) The Office shall study the best practices for creating an inclusive and equitable participatory budgeting process in the city and, in collaboration with the Board, work to produce Rule Book. In doing so, the Office shall consult with Boston residents, experts. and other cities that have established participatory budgeting processes to incorporate best practices and policies into the Rule Book. This Rule Book shall outline the policies and procedures of the Participatory Budgeting Process, including measures that align with the city goals of achieving and embedding equity and inclusion into city practices and building collective capacity on issues of racial and social justice. The Rule Book shall be a standard set of rules and operations that will include, but are not limited to: outlining project solicitation; project nomination; project proposals; project submission; and other processes that would be appropriate for the Rule Book.
The Office shall annually review, amend and update the Rule Book as needed, in consultation and with the majority approval of the Board, The Office shall annually update the City Council on the participatory budget process through an executive summary submitted at the end of the fiscal year.
(B) Public hearings of the Board shall be planned so as to maximize citizen attendance including a preference to hold hearings in the evenings or off-site from City Hall, as well as ensuring language accessibility for city residents. Notice of all public hearings of the Board shall be posted publicly on the city website and published once a week for two weeks preceding a hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the city.
(C) Participatory budgeting proposals shall be limited to one-time, non-recurring programs, shall not include the creation of new permanent positions, must be feasible to implement, and shall be implemented by the appropriate City Department or Agency with jurisdiction for the project being proposed. Proposals that would require multi-year funding may make payments to a special revenue fund and can accept and expend additional grant funds as they are awarded.
(D) Participatory budget proposals shall include cost estimates for implementation and be provided by the Board and Director in a timeframe that aligns with the city’s regular budget process and are subject to appropriation.
(E) Proposals with estimated costs will be reviewed in advance by an appropriate City Department or Agency and will be certified by the city’s Chief Financial Officer. The Office may consult with appropriate city staff to support the development of proposals.
(F) The Office shall regularly report on the uses of the funds, map the geographic distribution of funded projects, and study the economic and demographic breakdown of benefitting areas. It shall make such analysis and the underlying data available on a city website on at least an annual basis in a public hearing held by the Oversight Board.
(Ord. 2023 c.2)
Loading...