Ainslie Wood Westdale
You are invited to apply to become a member of the Ward 1 Participatory Budgeting Advisory Committee (PBAC) to advise Councillor McHattie on how Area Rating Dollars should be spent in Ward 1.
Area rating is the method used to assign specific program costs to different areas within the City for the purposes of taxation. In April of 2011, Council approved the transition to an “urban/rural” model of taxation for the area rated services.
As a result of these changes, an Area Rating Special Capital Re-Investment Reserve has been set up for Wards 1 to 8 (the former City of Hamilton). The purpose of this reserve is to aid in addressing the required infrastructure investments within the former City of Hamilton. Ward Councillors are being asked to identify infrastructure priorities within their wards.
Councillor McHattie would like to involve the community to help identify these priorities through a process known as “Participatory Budgeting”. First developed in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Participatory Budgeting directly involves the community in making decisions on the spending priorities for a defined public budget.
The Ward 1 Participatory Budgeting Advisory Committee (PBAC) will be made up of twenty (20) members. The priorities identified by this committee will be presented to the wider Ward 1 community at a series of public meetings and residents will have an opportunity to submit their preferences for the projects.
If you are interested in applying to sit on the PBAC, please complete and submit an application. An interview process will follow, once all applications have been submitted. Meetings will take place in May and June, 2012.
Please forward this to your neighbours and Ward 1 friends. We are trying to reach as many Ward 1 residents as possible.
Application forms are available at the following locations:
· Councillor McHattie’s website at http://www.brianmchattie.ca
· Councillor’s Reception, Hamilton City Hall, 71 Main Street W., 2nd Floor
· Locke Street Library
· Westdale Library
· Ryerson Recreation Centre
· Dalewood Recreation Centre
Applications can be returned by email to dale.brown@hamilton.ca, by fax to 905-546-2535 or by mail to Ward 1, 71 Main Street West, 2nd Floor, Hamilton, ON, L8P 4Y4
The deadline for submission of applications is Friday, April 20th, 2012 at 4:30 p.m. to Councillor McHattie’s Office.
Participatory Budgeting References:
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/03/29/participatory-budget/