NEWS RELEASE: Councilwoman Shané Darby Encourages 2nd District Residents to Join the Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee

Monday, March 11, 2024

Councilwoman Shané Darby Encourages 2nd District Residents to Join the Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee

Residents of the 2nd District can submit suggestions for spending the $20,000 in discretionary funds allocated to Councilwoman Darby and volunteer to serve on an exploratory Steering Committee.

Wilmington, DE – Residents of the 2nd District are encouraged to make their voices heard during the Participatory Budgeting process sponsored by Council Member Shané Darby. The district’s residents can submit ideas online to decide how $20,000 in discretionary funds allocated to Councilwoman Darby will be spent in Fiscal Year 2025.

“As a local government entity, it is imperative that we strengthen civic participation and engagement,” said 2nd District Councilwoman Shané Darby. “Residents have a voice through participatory budgeting. They have the opportunity to vote on how I will allocate my discretionary funds to improve their neighborhoods. In addition to submitting their Participatory Budget ideas, residents may also join the Steering Committee.”

The Steering Committee will be comprised of volunteers who will facilitate the Participatory Budgeting (PB) process. The PB process allows residents to direct how public discretionary funds are spent as part of their civic engagement. The Steering Committee will facilitate the PB process by:

• Drafting the PB guidelines
• Establishing goals and measures for success
• Developing the outreach strategy
• Helping transform ideas into actionable proposals
• Coordinating with City administrators to create the timeline for implementation of projects
• Facilitating the final vote on proposals

Residents who join the Steering Committee will have the following responsibilities:

• Meet once a month
• Help Collect ideas to spend Council Member Shané N. Darby’s funds ($20,000)
• Develop proposals from ideas collected and present the three (3) most popular for a community vote
• Help with the recruitment of volunteers
• Help to get the word out about the process to submit ideas for projects to fund and set the voting days and location
• Make arrangements for election week

Residents of the 2nd District interested in joining the Steering Committee are encouraged to send an email to 2nddistrictbudget@wilmingtonde.gov

Here is a list of participating 2nd District Neighborhoods:

If you are unsure whether you are a resident of the 2nd district, you can submit your home address here. To participate, District 2 must appear after hitting the submission link.

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MEDIA INQUIRIES:
Yesenia Taveras
Director of Communications, Wilmington City Council
Office: (302)576-2585
Email: ytaveras@wilmingtonde.gov
City Council Website: www.wilmingtoncitycouncil.com