LOGAN SQUARE — Starting next year residents of the 35th Ward will have a say in how the ward spends more than $1 million of discretionary funding.
Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa is implementing participatory budgeting in the ward, a practice that a handful of the city's 50 wards have adopted.
Each year individual aldermen receive $1.32 million of "menu money," which is typically spent on infrastructure projects.
It is up to the alderman to select and prioritize the cash.
The participatory budgeting process allows ward residents to propose spending ideas and develop project proposals.
Residents will vote on those projects in the spring and that list of the most popular projects will be submitted to Ramirez-Rosa to implement.
The alderman is hosting two idea collection assemblies this week to kick off the participatory budgeting process.
The first is set for Thursday at Murphy School, 3539 W. Grace St., at 6:30 p.m. The second will be held Saturday at Kosciuszko Park, 2732 N. Avers Ave., at 10 a.m.
A map of the 35th Ward is available at this link.
Projects that are typically funded at the ward level include repairing streets, alleys, sidewalks, traffic signals, street lights, parks and playgrounds.
Other wards that have adopted participatory budgeting include the 22nd, 45th, 47th and 49th.
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