King County’s Participatory Budgeting is going to be busy in the coming months.
Last year, the effort’s steering committee established the program’s framework to determine how to allocate nearly $11.75 million among five urban unincorporated areas. In the following months, the Participatory Budgeting team solicited ideas for projects and improvements that residents would like to see in their community.
The community responded by submitting a whopping 638 ideas! Below is the breakdown of ideas submitted per area:
| East Federal Way | 220 |
| White Center | 184 |
| Skyway | 150 |
| East Renton | 69 |
| Fairwood | 15 |
| Total | 638 |
As 2024 began, organizers went directly into communities to help residents learn and get excited about the process. This month, they led Proposal Development community discussions for each area.
What’s next?
This spring, more than 80 community members will serve as Proposal Advocates who will study and determine the feasibility of the ideas submitted. They then will develop the ideas into detailed proposals that will eventually go on a ballot. In the summer, these communities will get to determine which of these ideas will receive funding!
There will be multiple community discussions for you to share your thoughts on the ideas as Participatory Budgeting moves through its next phase. The next round of meetings is scheduled in March and April:
| Area | Date | Time | Location | Address |
| Fairwood and East Renton | Wednesday, March 20 | 6-7 p.m. | Fairwood Library | 17009 140th Ave. SE |
| East Federal Way | Saturday, March 30 | Noon-1 p.m. | Federal Way 320th Library | 848 S 320th St. |
| Skyway | Wednesday, April 17 | 6-7 p.m. | Skyway Library | 12601 76th Ave. S |
| White Center | Tuesday, April 30 | 6-7 p.m. | White Center Library | 1409 SW 107th St. |
The public will be able to review the rating-and-prioritizations of the Proposal Advocates and provide feedback.
We encourage anyone who lives, works, plays and/or worships in these five areas to engage in this process shifts power to communities to make budgetary decisions in their neighborhoods! For more information, visit publicinput.com/yourvoiceyourchoice
King County Local 