Advocates say they will continue the push to bring participatory budgeting to Cleveland after city council this week tabled legislation for a $5 million pilot program sponsored by Mayor Justin Bibb, asserting that the ordinance was an attack on their authority and would have un-Democratic effects.
“I don’t think that any of us, who have been working tirelessly for a year and half, volunteering our time because we believe in growing democracy in our city, feel that it’s just time to walk away just because city council doesn’t think that this is something that they want to get behind,” PB CLE community organizer Molly Martin told Ideastream Wednesday.
Cleveland City Council’s Finance, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee on Monday debated but tabled the issue.
The legislation, co-sponsored by council members Deborah Gray of Ward 4, Stephanie Howse of Ward 7, Rebecca Maurer of Ward 12 and Jenny Spencer of Ward 15, was crafted with the input and support of PB CLE, an advocacy group with more than 700 members.
“Through this process we aim to expand democracy, participation, equity and transparency in local government,” said Erika Anthony, co-founder and executive director of Cleveland Votes. “The goal of implementation is to ensure marginalized residents, particularly youth 14 and up, have an opportunity to create an on-ramp into democracy by participating in new civic infrastructure.”
If passed, the ordinance would have allocated $5 million in ARPA funds to the pilot program with an additional $510,000 to promote public outreach, buy voting software, and establish a 21-member steering committee, who would be paid. Councilmembers Michael Polensek of Ward 8 and Kris Harsh of Ward 13 questioned the necessity of said salaries.
The legislation faced other significant challenges in the committee meeting.
Council president Blaine Griffin of Ward 6 raised concerns that, given how many wards and districts the $5 million would be spread across, there would be “too many competing interests” to equitably distribute the money in a participatory budgeting process.
“The reason that I’m gray and bald now is that it’s hard to get 17 members around the table to agree on where and how we address priorities and then have to work with the administration,” Griffin said. “Let alone to get a room full of people that, oftentimes, is going to be slanted from the more affluent, more populated, more middle-class neighborhoods that have middle-class income that will come out and articulately address their issues.”
He reiterated that point at a City Club talk on Wednesdy afternoon and made some additional comments that, while not specifically mentioning the PB legislation, were clearly in reference to it.
“We represent the people of Cleveland,” Griffin said. “Anything else you hear is disingenuous, hyperbole and misleading. There’s a subtle effort by some groups in our nation, state and, yes, our city, to undermine and dismantle institutional systems and leadership structures disguised as democracy building, engagement, disruption, accountability, claims to represent the people and allegations of council people being incompetent, uncaring, selfish, corrupt, lethargic and ineffective. Ladies and gentlemen, that is not true. We work our butts off for the city and the people of this city.”
Aside from what projects the $5 million might have gone toward, sponsors of the legislation and advocates insist participatory budgeting is a tool with additional value in building civic engagement. A 2022 survey found that 70% of Ohioans surveyed supported participatory budgeting. In urban areas that number climbs to 76%. Proponents say bringing residents in as stakeholders in participatory budgeting encourages voter turnout and builds trust between governments and communities.
“I support it because I believe, fundamentally, that it is a way to build trust between residents and this city hall,” said Maurer, noting that “any program that is recommended, supported, and voted on in a civic participation fund would still have to come back to this council.”
Residents would learn what council can and can’t fund, how to implement solutions, and those most directly impacted by problems would be able to have their voices heard, Maurer argued.
But detractors, which included the majority of council, weren’t convinced.
“I know that the turnout is not amazing in the city of Cleveland, but for the people that did recognize and exercise their right to vote, they chose us to represent the people,” Griffin said. “The concept that we don’t represent the people to me is asinine. All I do is people all day, every day.”
“I’m actually very, very concerned that this is going to have an anti-democratic effect on our city,” said Harsh, who noted he originally liked the participatory budgeting proposal. “We cannot send a message that the government doesn’t work and try to get more people in government. Those two messages are not going to work.”
Like Griffin, Harsh expressed concern about how accessible participatory budgeting would be for most residents, citing those stretched thin working long shifts or caring for family. He also argued that participatory budgeting would invite outside influence.
But as Axios Cleveland’s Sam Allard noted in a Twitter thread, the response by council might have as much to do with opposition to Bibb as it did with opposition to the legislation itself, with Polensek saying, “The honeymoon [with the administration] is over.” Council also had heated words for Bibb earlier in the day over the split of casino funds between city council’s budget and the city’s general fund.
For his part, Griffin expressed support for possibly reviving the concept of participatory budgeting specifically for high school students.
“While City Council’s Finance Committee did not advance the participatory budgeting legislation this week, I have no doubt PB CLE will remain committed to advocating and fighting for this initiative,” Mayor Bibb said Wednesday in a statement.
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This article appears in Jan 11-24, 2023.