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The people’s budget — Clean up graffiti, mobile library, pick up the snow?

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charlevoix bridgeThe ‘you-make-the-budget” experiment just launched in Montreal’s southwest borough kind of reminds me of those school projects where 12-year-olds find out whether they have what it takes to run a household or be a good parent.

(You know, the ones where you have to budget your allowance, or carry a raw egg around for a couple of weeks without breaking it. Only you break the egg when you leave it in your locker on the third day, and the yoke spills all over your coat. There are tears and recriminations. Then you get caught trying to sneak in a substitute egg, but that girl who was supposed to be your absolutely best friend forever rats you out to the teacher, and you end up in detention forever, where  you meet that guy….)

Okay, I digress.  Decision-making is messy.

People in Montreal’s southwest borough are about to test-drive an idea which allows taxpayers to look at the budget for local services and decide what they consider priorities and where they want the money spent.

Projet Montreal used a version of the budget simulator in the Plateau a few years ago.

Now Benoit Dorais, a member of Vision Montreal and mayor of the borough, which includes St. Henri, Point St. Charles and Little Burgundy, is inviting citizens to try their hand and see how well they do when asked to come up with the best way to spend the $54.8 million the district has to spend on local services in the 2014 budget.

The questionnaire takes roughly 10 minutes to complete. It encourages citizens to look at what the borough now pays for things like snow removal, removing graffiti, garbage  and recycling, filling potholes, tending to parks, running libraries, pools and recreation programs. Is it too much? Too little?

By using the interactive sliding scale, citizens can see whether they could do any better at putting together a budget that meets the communities needs.  The deadline to fill out the survey is May 15.

The borough sees the simulator as a way to de-mystify the budget and include citizens in the decision-making process, while getting  a better sense of what people want –  although there is no guarantee council will abide by the people’s verdict on what they want most.

If you live in the district and want to try your hand at concocting a budget that meets your ideas of what the neighbourhood needs most, click here.

pcurran@montrealgazette.com

twitter: peggylcurran

Facebook: Peggy Curran



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