Ald. Simpson Hosting “Participatory Budget Exercise”

Ald. Nate Simpson (D-1) is hosting an event with a, “Participatory Budget Exercise”, as the City Council considers the budget proposed by Mayor Erin Stewart (R) that, among other things, cuts local funding for school operating funding in inflation-adjusted dollars.

“It’s that time of year when city departments, commissions, the mayor, City Council, and Board of Ed put their minds together and come up with next year’s budget for the city,” Simpson wrote online, inviting people to the event, saying, “Come help figure out what our resident’s priorities are in an exercise that goes a little beyond the norm: participatory budgeting.”

“Join your neighbors and myself,” says Simpson, “April 29th at 5:00pm in the New Britain Public Library Community Room for a fun, informal, and educational exercise on participatory budgeting.”

The Council’s official hearing on the city budget is Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at 6:00pm in the Council Chambers at city hall.

The group, Participatory Budget Project, says that Participatory Budgeting is, “is a democratic process in which community members decide how to spend part of a public budget. It gives people real power over real money.”

Simpson says that the event is to be, “an exercise designed to offer the chance for our community to better understand city budgets as well as identify the priorities of our neighborhoods in their day to day lives.”