Anyone who's been following the City of Chicago's budgeting process knows that neither the public nor elected officials have had much substantive input into each year's spending. But up in Chicago's 49th Ward, Ald. Joe Moore and some of his constituents are testing out a new process -- "participatory budgeting" -- at the local level.  Specifically, they are working together to determine how to divvy up the ward's $1.3 million "menu money" budget.

Each year, aldermen are given funding for infrastructure projects in their wards, from new lighting to street resurfacing. Inevitably, the list of potential uses for the money far outstretches the total sum available, leading to much consternation.  Moore tells us he's hoping his "grand experiment" in budgeting will give his constituents a taste of "the tough choices" he's confronted with each year. "It shows the limited resources we have to work with," he says.

So far, the Roger's Park ward has been divided into eight sections. Over the past month, the process has unfolded during community meetings in each of those areas, where residents set their own priorities.  (Read Jeff Wegerson's two dispatches over on Prairie State Blue.)  In April, the groups will converge at a ward-wide meeting to put the most popular projects to a vote. A steering committee composed of folks from more than 30 community organizations is spearheading the process, and has drafted the (still very loose) rulebook.

While experiments with participatory budgeting are taking place in South America and some European countries, Moore believes this is the first example here in the United States. "Not only is this new to us," he says, "it's especially new to the Chicago, a city with a tradition of having decisions made with very little input."

Moore predicts that added input will also mean added understanding on the part of constituents: "It's politically wise. By including people in the process, they're less likely to criticize the spending decisions."