Op-Ed: The people’s case for the People’s Budget

Too often, we check out of our democracy because it seems impossible to get things done. The ideas of regular residents hardly get prioritized, if they even get the chance to see the light of day. Clevelanders are sick of seeing our community struggle – we can no longer afford to be the poorest city in the country.

People’s Budget Cleveland (PB CLE) exists as a response to these frustrations and as a new approach to democracy in our city. PB CLE is a movement to celebrate the creativity of Clevelanders, bring new people into democracy, and make government more transparent. 

It is an opportunity for Cleveland residents (including youth age 13 and up) to directly decide where their taxpayer dollars go. We are bringing the movement to the ballot because City Council does not share our vision.

When representatives of PB CLE went to Council to make the case for resident input on the spending of $512 million ARPA dollars – a once in a lifetime investment in our city – the response of most council members was to say that it was enough for us to call them and tell them how we think it should be spent. 

Council President Blaine Griffin believes that a People’s Budget is a threat to Council’s power, a compromise to their authority to decide how taxpayer dollars are spent. We have to break the illusion of some members of the city council that their budget is the People’s Budget. It’s time for Clevelanders to have real power to make real decisions about how 2% ($14 million dollars of the 2022 budget) of our city’s budget gets spent in our neighborhoods. 

The People’s Budget is a perpetual celebration of the genius of our friends and neighbors. It’s a celebration of the innovation and wisdom that flourishes outside of City Hall. When you have a great idea to make Cleveland a better place, you shouldn’t have to hope that an “important” person likes your idea enough to fund it. If neighbors like your idea, they’ll vote for it, celebrating your creativity and giving your voice a bigger platform.

In Grand Rapids, Michigan, residents voted for an affordable, quality childcare program to provide 2nd and 3rd shift workers with new options for their kids. In New York City, people voted to renovate gyms at local recreation centers. Here in Cleveland, we have even more opportunities to make an impact, as our PB proposal will be the biggest per-capita investment in the country.

It’s time for Cleveland to join cities like Grand Rapids, New York, Atlanta, Boston, Greensboro, and Vallejo, Calif. in giving residents the power to improve their communities through a People’s Budget. We believe that the PB process of getting community members involved in local spending will create a new precedent for engagement, transparency, and democracy in local government – values that all great cities should aspire to.

We would love for you to join us in our campaign. Sign up for a shift at https://www.mobilize.us/pbcle/ or reach out to an organizer through our we tgbsite to learn more.