The City of Columbus announces its first-ever Participatory Budgeting (PB) program, titled Our Voice, Our Choice Budget. Participatory budgeting is a democratic process that gives residents—particularly those whose perspectives are often excluded from civic processes—direct decision-making influence over a portion of a public budget.

Through this program, City Council is utilizing a resident-created and resident-driven process to propose long-term neighborhood improvements. City Council, through the efforts of Councilmember Bankston, has secured $9 million from the City's Capital Budget to fund this pilot program. These funds will be divided equally among the city’s nine Council Districts, giving residents in each district the power to determine how to invest $1 million into their local community infrastructure.

Your motivation and participation in generating and sharing your ideas is crucial for the Northeast community. Please click the “FORM LINK” and send in your ideas for the Northeast Area (District 5). The deadline for ideas is August 28, 2026. If you don’t want to submit online, fill out the paper form and drop off your ideas at the dropoff box located at Columbus Metropolitan Library Shepard Branch, 850 N. Nelson Rd, Columbus, OH 43219.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: If you still have questions, a community engagement meeting will take place on August 6, 2026, at 6:30pm at the Near East Pride Center, 1393 E. Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43205. This is the ONLY meeting that will be allocated and dedicated for a community presentation and listening session about the budget for our district.