Mayor hopeful David Meates wants ‘participatory budgeting’ in East Christchurch

East Christchurch residents will be in control of how money is spent in their neighborhood if: Christchurch mayoral candidate David Meates gets his way.

Meates, whose main competition for the mayoral chains is expected to be Phil Maugerhas released seven policies he is campaigning for ahead of the October local elections, when residents will elect the city’s mayor, councilors and community councils.

As part of Meates’ policy, he has pledged to work with the Waitai Coastal-Burwood-Linwood Community Council on new engagement processes.

This includes the introduction of “participatory budgeting”, which allows people to decide how a budget is allocated.

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Meates has said he wants to give more power to community councils, saying last month: “Local communities really know what’s important to them.”

The goal of participatory budgeting is to bring the benefits of democracy to lower socio-economic areas.

It was first developed and implemented in the late 1980s in Porto Alegre, a city in Brazil.

Participatory budgeting gives citizens control over where a budget is spent – and it can be spent in a way that better reflects the strengths, needs and aspirations of the community, according to the United Kingdom’s Local Government Association.

In Christchurch City Council’s latest resident surveyonly 25% of respondents were satisfied with the influence of taxpayers on decision-making.

Participatory budgeting is an action that is part of seven overarching policies that Meates has announced.

Those policies are: restoring confidence in the council; reconnect with all communities; make the city a climate leader; make Christchurch a city for everyone to enjoy; spend rates wisely; create an accessible city with a good infrastructure; and enabling businesses and innovation to thrive.

As part of his plans to make Christchurch a climate leader, Meates said he would create a citywide climate leadership group to provide independent advice on how the city will become New Zealand’s first carbon neutral city.

This climate group would have input from all sectors, including business, he said.

Meates also advocates smarter public transport and “simple safe cycle paths”.

To spend the rates wisely, Meates said, “We’ll get things right the first time.” He said he would also create quarterly reports on the city’s spending and present them in a clear way that would make sense to people.

He said he would develop a culture of “we can do it” within the council and figure out why it “doesn’t deliver what it promised”.

Meates said he’d been in touch with community groups across the city and listening to what was important.

“Some of those [policies] will be added to and further developed in the next six to eight weeks,” he said.

Phil Mauger, also candidate for mayor, announced its first policy in early July.

They were grouped into six categories: keeping rates affordable and reducing debt; finish roads and footpaths; better deliver core services; make Christchurch an even better place to live; regain taxpayers’ confidence; and care for the environment.

As part of his effort to finish roads and sidewalks, he promised an itinerant maintenance crew, who would repair sidewalks and roadsides if complaints came in.