Scope of Acitivites Team Meeting Notes, 11.13

11.13.08
Scope of Activities Team Meeting

Brief discussion of work thus far regarding the exploration of participatory budgeting.
In LA, the city distributes a small blue book that is a comprehensive tally of all the income and then allocations of the city budget. Each neighborhood gets one, and during budget day, neighborhoods can help discuss different appropriations and budgetary concerns.

Participatory budgeting and program/service review are closely related. Participatory budgeting strives to include citizens in the allocation process, while service review makes sure that the money allocated is being spent wisely and the services/programs the city is running are performing adequately.

But the roles of government and the roles of citizens should be clearly defined when pursuing this.

Should program/service review be mainly focused on city departments or specific programs?
Both, when possible.
Should be able to do a department by department look at fund, the regulations on the funds as to what they can be used for, and citizens/communities should be able to help set programmatic priorities.

Example of an unclear program:
City Economic Development Fund
“Economic Development” is not clearly defined, also, the process as to how to allocate money within the fun is not defined
Conversation comparing small versus large development is currently closed to the public and should be opened up

Metrics and definitions of what a success looks like and what a failure looks like must be agreed upon before pushing for program/service review.

How do you make programs more efficient, and how do you make sure that certain standards are being met?
Issues on the “front end” of programs /services that need to be defined:
What are priorities?
How are they implemented?
Issues on the “back end” that need to be defined:
What are the returns?
What are the impacts?

Main goal: making programs efficient versus funding programs without oversight.

Questions:
Is the City Charter too rigid to do this?

Next steps:
Contact the I.G. (Cerasoli) about coming to a meeting and discussing this aspect of CPP
One page synopsis of each of the three legs of Scope of Activities
Review of the City Charter