Marin Forum/Teliha Draheim
Through December 29, Marin residents can choose their top seven choices on how to spend $2.5 million to improve their communities. This new process, adopted for the first time in Marin County, is called Participatory Budgeting (PB). The Office of Equity views the PB process as an extension of the countywide equity strategy, “providing resources and a framework for community members to put their values and priorities into action”.
Project applications were vetted according to the following criteria: Alignment with County equity goals and strong commitment to local needs, advancing racial equity and improving the community. Of the one hundred applications received, twenty-four projects advanced to the Participatory Community Ballot for voting.
So, who can “vote”? The Participatory Voter Budgeting Guide states: “Any community member who is 14 years of age or older, and who lives, works, or attends school in Marin County can vote in Participatory Budgeting (PB). Immigration status is not required. Community members who are unhoused and/or previously incarcerated individuals can also vote.”
The CA Secretary of State website states that to register to vote in California you must be: A United States citizen and a resident of California, 18 years old or older on Election Day, not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony, and not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court.
While it’s clear that the intent of Participatory Budgeting is meant to help under-served groups within the population, and some group members may consist of previously incarcerated individuals, undocumented immigrants, the un-housed or those under 18, the process raises serious questions regarding “voting rights” and how US tax dollars are being allocated, other than by legally registered US voters.
The PB process is supposed to be about equity, but based on representative demographics and geography, community projects selected to vote on, do not appear to be equitably chosen. Priority communities for project funding included Marin City, the Canal Area of San Rafael, West Marin, and Novato.
The range of project categories was broad including housing, and mental and physical health.
In the voting choices, twelve (50%) of the twenty-four accepted project proposals originate in the Canal Area of San Rafael, six originate from Marin City, three from West Marin, one from Novato, one from San Rafael and one county-wide. I could find no projects directly relating to housing, child care or senior citizens. This is not an equitable representation of Marin County needs.
I also question if the opportunity to apply for funding and the voting period, between October 26 – December 29, were adequately publicized. The only members of the public with whom I spoke who were notified about the Participatory Budgeting “voting”, were on mailing lists of nonprofits that had applied for funding. These nonprofits encourage entire families to vote for their selected funding projects. It appears that most of Marin County’s registered voters were not informed about the Participatory Community Ballot for voting.
As taxpayers, we have few opportunities to indicate our preference in how our tax dollars are spent. The “votes” collected appear to be more of a polling of opinion and a way to influence those who make decisions on how the money is spent. Though many of the applications are thoughtful and represent deeply important projects for local communities, it is not the same as voting in an election.
There are numerous projects to choose from and many support women, youth activities, mental health and the arts. You must register online for a code before voting. A survey requesting participants’ demographic and economic information is included, but response is optional.
Perhaps it is just a County-wide poll, but your vote will influence those who make the decisions on which projects will be selected. There are too few ways to make our opinions known and though the process may rankle some Marin County voters, I welcome this opportunity to have a say in how our tax dollars are spent. More information can be found on the Marin County website at https://pb.marincounty.org.”
(Teliha Draheim is a resident of Fairfax. To write a Marin Forum piece for the newspaper, please contact publisher Sherm Frederick at ShermFrederick@gmail.com. The more voices the better it is for the community.)
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