Mayor Wu Announces Voting Stage of the Participatory Budgeting Initiative, "Ideas in Action"

Today, Mayor Michelle Wu and the Office of Participatory Budgeting (OPB) announced voting will soon start for participatory budget project ideas previously submitted by residents. Voting will take place in person at City Hall, designated Boston Public Libraries, and online through the Participatory Budgeting (PB) voting website from January 15 through February 15, 2025. The Participatory Budgeting Initiative, “Ideas in Action,” empowers residents to decide how $2 million of the City budget should be allocated. Over 1,000 proposed ideas were gathered from residents earlier this year on how this $2 million could be invested. These ideas were narrowed to 14 final proposals, and now residents will vote on their top five projects that they believe should receive funding. Once residents select the top ideas, OPB will then work with departments and its External Oversight Board on awarding projects, with an implementation timeline for spring 2025.

“We’re excited to have residents vote on these initiatives to help drive how the city can deliver on the issues that matter most in our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “Thank you to every community member who shared an idea and got involved to shape our work.”

This initiative started as a community effort that led Boston voters to approve a ballot measure in the 2021 Municipal Election to create an Office of Participatory Budgeting. Mayor Wu and the City Council adopted the ordinance establishing the Office in the spring of 2023. From January 15 through February 15, 2025, Boston residents can vote on their top proposals and decide on how $2 million of the City budget can be invested in one-time and non-recurrent, community-driven projects across the City. Boston residents have helped shape and prioritize 14 project proposals for the voting phase of participatory budgeting. Examples of these proposals include developing more economic opportunities for low-income entrepreneurs, expanding access to fresh foods in Boston, and enhancing access to essential items for Boston’s senior population. 

“For this first year of Participatory Budgeting in Boston, our Office proudly established a process where residents' voices and ideas directly shaped the final proposals on the ballot. This was purposely achieved through close collaboration with our External Oversight Board, City Departments, and community partnerships. Our team is excited to see the voting results in February and begin implementing the winning proposals,” said Renato Castelo, Director of the Office of Participatory Budgeting.

For the launch of “Ideas in Action” this summer, several public engagement channels were utilized to collect ideas from residents, allowing the City to better understand how to continue supporting its residents. These channels included an interactive mapping website, a multilingual participatory budget phone line, paper in-person submissions through Boston Public Library branches and at City Hall, and 19 co-sponsored events hosted in partnership with community organizations across the City. 

In October 2024, OPB partnered with community organizations and co-hosted three in-person Visioning Forums in East Boston, Roxbury, and Dorchester, where residents, in collaboration with City staff, reviewed and assessed the feasibility of the collected ideas and drafted ballot proposals for participatory budget voting. For those who could not attend these forums but wanted to provide feedback, OPB held an online meeting in early November as well as a two-week public comment period.

Following the Visioning Forums, OPB collaborated with City Departments on refining resident proposals to ensure they are feasible to implement while keeping residents' original ideas and intent. Departments also provided cost estimates for each proposal. OPB will work with City departments to refine the timeline and implementation details after the public voting phase is concluded, and the most voted projects are selected. 

The participatory budget voting requirements are as follows: 

• All Boston residents age 11 and older, regardless of citizenship, are eligible to vote.

• Voting is limited to one vote per resident.

• Each resident is encouraged to vote for their top five (5) projects.

In February of 2025, the proposals with the most votes will receive funding up to the $2 million total funding cap for participatory budget projects for this first cycle. OPB will then work with departments and its External Oversight Board on awarding projects, with an implementation timeline for spring 2025.