Help Cambridge decide how to spend $800,000 in participatory budgeting
Voting closes December 8 at 11:59 p.m.
The City of Cambridge has allocated $800,000 for participatory budgeting, a democratic process in which residents vote on various proposed capital expenditures meant to benefit the public.
The voting process for participatory budgeting this cycle runs Dec. 2 through Dec. 8. All residents of Cambridge over the age of 12, including university students, and regardless of citizenship status, are eligible to participate. All MIT students who reside in Cambridge can participate.
This past summer, over 600 proposed projects were submitted. From August to November, a team of 50 delegates worked in five committees to select the 20 projects that would make it to this cycle’s ballot.
This year’s ballot includes proposals to add more benches in key locations around Cambridge, make enhancements to public libraries, make resource kits for the homeless, make upgrades to playgrounds, and provide public Wi-Fi in Inman Square and Russell Field. For a full list of proposals, and to vote on your favorites, see http://pb.cambridgema.gov/.
Residents can vote for up to five proposed projects.
This marks the City’s fourth cycle of participatory budgeting and saw an increase of $100,000 from the last cycle. Previous winning proposals included adding water drinking fountains throughout the city, upgrading youth centers, improving bike lanes, city art projects, and solar-powered real-time bus tracker displays.