The Big PB Vote is finally here!

Throughout October, members of our Participatory Budgeting team will be out in force encouraging the communities of Skyway, White Center, East Federal Way, East Renton and Fairwood to vote for which proposed projects should receive funding.

This month’s big vote is the culmination of more than a year’s worth of meeting and organizing, led by the Participatory Budgeting steering committee, i.e., the 29-member steering committee that shaped the framework of how $11.8 million should be spent in the county’s five urban, unincorporated areas.

The committee members worked with proposal advocates and others to evaluate hundreds of proposed ideas submitted by residents. Now, anyone who lives, works, attends school, plays or worships in any of the five areas can cast their ballots.

This is the county’s second round of Participatory Budgeting, a two-year, community-led process in which residents gather ideas from their neighbors, create proposals from those ideas, and hold a vote to decide which proposals to pay for with county funds. Each community vote takes place both online and in person at pop-up voting events.  
 
Ballots are available in English and several other languages, and multi-lingual community members will be on hand at voting events to help explain the process. 
 
The King County Council has made available a total of $11.8 million to be divided among the urban areas. This includes revenues from the marijuana tax, which benefit White Center and Skyway—so those areas receive larger shares of the funding. 
 
From now through Oct. 31, anyone who lives, works, owns a business, receives services, goes to school, or worships in one of these five areas is encouraged to cast their vote to choose projects to benefit their community. 

“I am so humbled that we are at this point – we are bringing ‘THE BIG PB VOTE’ to unincorporated areas of King County. After a year of co-designing with community members from these five areas, it is exciting to see all of the unique and transformative project ideas on an actual ballot. A lot of these ideas would have never surfaced had we done business as usual. Through community led outreach efforts, we were able to engage communities that, historically, have not been represented. This is something of which I am truly proud.” – Gloria Briggs, Participatory Budgeting Program Manager

How to vote

These communities can cast their ballots online by visiting www.publicinput.com/yourvoiceyourchoice.

More on participatory budgeting  

In 2021, the King County Council approved Executive Constantine’s proposal to try this new approach to community investment, which is centered on racial equity. It gives people who live, work, play, or worship in the county’s five urban unincorporated areas the chance to directly choose how more than $11 million is spent in their communities.  
 
Participatory budgeting allows communities to identify, discuss, and prioritize public spending. Residents help decide how to spend money on capital projects (physical things that are bought, built, installed, or fixed up) or programs and services.  
 
The Community Investment Budget Committee, a group of appointed residents from King County’s urban unincorporated areas, met virtually to create the framework for the new participatory budgeting process.  
 
Where does the money come from? The funds for the capital projects are backed by bonds. The funds for programs and services in North Highline/White Center and Skyway-West Hill come from King County’s general fund and are supported by marijuana retail sales tax revenue.  
 
Learn more by visiting www.publicinput.com/yourvoiceyourvchoice

You can read the full news release here.