Boston residents voted to fund six projects, including rental aid for young residents, food access, and support for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated youth
BOSTON, MA - Boston residents are building their muscle for direct democracy. Through the City’s new participatory budgeting opportunity, residents are now able to directly propose, and collectively vote, on how to spend the City’s money to support their communities.
In February, the voting period for Boston’s first round of participatory budgeting ended. Tuesday evening, the Boston Office of Participatory Budgeting announced 6 winning projects:
1. Expand Access to Fresh Foods in Boston
2. Rat Prevention Initiatives in Defense Residential Areas
3. Programs to Support Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Youth
4. Rental Assistance for Boston Youth Ages 16-24
5. Support Community Gardens in Boston’s Neighborhoods with Limited Access to Affordable Food
6. Install Benches at High-Ridership Public Transit Bus Stops in Boston
In total, 4,462 Bostonians voted on a ballot containing the top ideas submitted from 789 residents. Over 1,300 votes were mobilized by grassroots organizations in the Better Budget Alliance, a city-wide coalition rooted in Boston’s BIPOC, immigrant and working class communities.
“The Better Budget Alliance did extensive outreach to meet residents where they’re at, such as classrooms, community events, door-knocking, ESL classes, youth programs, assisting residents who visit non-profits and more,” said Eliza Parad, coordinator of the Better Budget Alliance.
“We found this in person outreach essential to reach people who are not typically engaged in city processes or voting in elections, and we hope the City will increase collaboration with community organizations in the future to do even more on-the-ground outreach for participatory budgeting,” Parad said.
Members of the Better Budget Alliance shared the following reactions to results of the vote and reflections on the first participatory budgeting cycle:
“Bostonians deserve to dream of a better future and have the resources and infrastructure to make those dreams a reality. Participatory budgeting is an example of this direct democracy in action as we have seen in this pilot cycle. However, if we are using participatory budgeting funds for band-aid solutions for things that the City should already be taking care of, we aren’t using residents’ ideas to their fullest potential. In the next cycle we hope that City officials, the mayor, and the available funds respond to all the needs surfaced, not just the winning projects, and in future iterations offer at least $40M to the future we’re trying to build for our city.” -Kat Ramos, Center for Economic Democracy
“The vast participation in participatory budgeting demonstrates that Boston residents are ready to take the power of their city budget back into their own hands. Next year, Mayor Wu should commit to increasing the pool of PB funds to $40 million, so that residents can get all their needs met rather than fight with each other over scraps.” -Alex Shames, Brighton resident and member of the Better Budget Alliance
“To me, the conclusion of this pilot process is such a win in itself. Community has been asking for this process - and for more general control and say over the budget - since 2021. We are finally concluding the first pilot cycle of participatory budgeting with a binding vote that will ensure that whatever projects people wanted will be implemented. This binding vote is a big step in building trust and collaboration between government and residents. Now I can hold both truths: celebrate and be happy for the process while also acknowledging that people deserve and wanted MORE meaningful projects. We heard throughout this first cycle that $2M was not enough for projects to be meaningful. Our coalition often heard residents ask 'what is 2M even going to do?', especially when folks talk about housing needs. I’m excited that a project offering housing assistance to young people won, and I hope that councilors and the mayor see all these ideas and proposals and take those into the general budget process to make sure the ideas from participatory budgeting don’t just end when the cycle ends.” -Kathy Henriquez, Center for Economic Democracy
“For many Bostonians, this was their first time engaging in local budgeting, having conversations with neighbors about shared priorities, and experiencing direct democracy in action. That alone is worth celebrating. It’s especially meaningful to see investments in youth housing and resources for incarcerated young people which are so critical right now. At the same time, the results raise important questions about Boston’s participatory budgeting process. Too many of the selected projects, from rat prevention to food assistance, reflect gaps in essential services that the City should already be addressing. Participatory budgeting should be a space for community-driven innovative pilot programs and re-imagining, not a way to compensate for unmet basic needs that our city should already be handling. In this regard, the prioritized participatory budgeting projects point to some really important failures in our current city budget.” -Sukhai Rawlins, Youth Justice and Power Union
“We hope Mayor Wu will prioritize funding basic needs more in her FY26 budget rather than continuing to inflate the police budget, which is the highest funded department outside of education and fixed costs. This way, participatory budgeting can be more focused on community innovations rather than filling in gaps the city shouldn’t be leaving in the first place. These results highlight that there are real gaps in Mayor Wu’s budget to address basic services, like public health initiatives, that should already be funded in the budget and shouldn’t need residents to vote on.” -Alex Shames, Brighton resident and member of the Better Budget Alliance
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The Better Budget Alliance (BBA) is a city-wide coalition of 30+ grassroots organizations rooted in Boston’s working class and BIPOC neighborhoods. The BBA organizes to increase democracy, equity and transparency in Boston’s budgeting decisions.
In February, the voting period for Boston’s first round of participatory budgeting ended. Tuesday evening, the Boston Office of Participatory Budgeting announced 6 winning projects:
1. Expand Access to Fresh Foods in Boston
2. Rat Prevention Initiatives in Defense Residential Areas
3. Programs to Support Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Youth
4. Rental Assistance for Boston Youth Ages 16-24
5. Support Community Gardens in Boston’s Neighborhoods with Limited Access to Affordable Food
6. Install Benches at High-Ridership Public Transit Bus Stops in Boston
In total, 4,462 Bostonians voted on a ballot containing the top ideas submitted from 789 residents. Over 1,300 votes were mobilized by grassroots organizations in the Better Budget Alliance, a city-wide coalition rooted in Boston’s BIPOC, immigrant and working class communities.
“The Better Budget Alliance did extensive outreach to meet residents where they’re at, such as classrooms, community events, door-knocking, ESL classes, youth programs, assisting residents who visit non-profits and more,” said Eliza Parad, coordinator of the Better Budget Alliance.
“We found this in person outreach essential to reach people who are not typically engaged in city processes or voting in elections, and we hope the City will increase collaboration with community organizations in the future to do even more on-the-ground outreach for participatory budgeting,” Parad said.
Members of the Better Budget Alliance shared the following reactions to results of the vote and reflections on the first participatory budgeting cycle:
“Bostonians deserve to dream of a better future and have the resources and infrastructure to make those dreams a reality. Participatory budgeting is an example of this direct democracy in action as we have seen in this pilot cycle. However, if we are using participatory budgeting funds for band-aid solutions for things that the City should already be taking care of, we aren’t using residents’ ideas to their fullest potential. In the next cycle we hope that City officials, the mayor, and the available funds respond to all the needs surfaced, not just the winning projects, and in future iterations offer at least $40M to the future we’re trying to build for our city.” -Kat Ramos, Center for Economic Democracy
“The vast participation in participatory budgeting demonstrates that Boston residents are ready to take the power of their city budget back into their own hands. Next year, Mayor Wu should commit to increasing the pool of PB funds to $40 million, so that residents can get all their needs met rather than fight with each other over scraps.” -Alex Shames, Brighton resident and member of the Better Budget Alliance
“To me, the conclusion of this pilot process is such a win in itself. Community has been asking for this process - and for more general control and say over the budget - since 2021. We are finally concluding the first pilot cycle of participatory budgeting with a binding vote that will ensure that whatever projects people wanted will be implemented. This binding vote is a big step in building trust and collaboration between government and residents. Now I can hold both truths: celebrate and be happy for the process while also acknowledging that people deserve and wanted MORE meaningful projects. We heard throughout this first cycle that $2M was not enough for projects to be meaningful. Our coalition often heard residents ask 'what is 2M even going to do?', especially when folks talk about housing needs. I’m excited that a project offering housing assistance to young people won, and I hope that councilors and the mayor see all these ideas and proposals and take those into the general budget process to make sure the ideas from participatory budgeting don’t just end when the cycle ends.” -Kathy Henriquez, Center for Economic Democracy
“For many Bostonians, this was their first time engaging in local budgeting, having conversations with neighbors about shared priorities, and experiencing direct democracy in action. That alone is worth celebrating. It’s especially meaningful to see investments in youth housing and resources for incarcerated young people which are so critical right now. At the same time, the results raise important questions about Boston’s participatory budgeting process. Too many of the selected projects, from rat prevention to food assistance, reflect gaps in essential services that the City should already be addressing. Participatory budgeting should be a space for community-driven innovative pilot programs and re-imagining, not a way to compensate for unmet basic needs that our city should already be handling. In this regard, the prioritized participatory budgeting projects point to some really important failures in our current city budget.” -Sukhai Rawlins, Youth Justice and Power Union
“We hope Mayor Wu will prioritize funding basic needs more in her FY26 budget rather than continuing to inflate the police budget, which is the highest funded department outside of education and fixed costs. This way, participatory budgeting can be more focused on community innovations rather than filling in gaps the city shouldn’t be leaving in the first place. These results highlight that there are real gaps in Mayor Wu’s budget to address basic services, like public health initiatives, that should already be funded in the budget and shouldn’t need residents to vote on.” -Alex Shames, Brighton resident and member of the Better Budget Alliance
###
The Better Budget Alliance (BBA) is a city-wide coalition of 30+ grassroots organizations rooted in Boston’s working class and BIPOC neighborhoods. The BBA organizes to increase democracy, equity and transparency in Boston’s budgeting decisions.
