The New Process

Will the budget forums be worth your time?

by Daniel Schwartz

JUST ONE BILLION MORE!

Last fall, when the mayor went behind closed doors with City Council to discuss the cuts he had to make to the city's budget, Philadelphians got angry: At the town hall meetings Nutter held after proposing his cuts, citizens complained about a lack of public deliberation.

Well, now the mayor gets another chance. After cutting $1 billion from Philadelphia's five-year budget, he now has another billion to cut. And this time, his administration has decided to ask the citizens of Philadelphia for advice in a series of public forums.

"We're gonna ask people to not ask what's good for them and their neighborhood, but to ask what's best for the city as a whole," says Harris Sokoloff from his University of Pennsylvania office. Sokoloff runs the Penn Project for Civic Engagement (PPCE), and is one of the architects of the budget forums, which will be called "Tight Times, Tough Choices, Citizen Priorities." PPCE has conducted hundreds of forums in the past, partnering with government officials, businesses and media outlets. In the upcoming forums, "We're going to have a Q&A session with reporters and city officials, give the citizens some background knowledge and then split up into small groups, where they can discuss ideas on what to cut in the budget and what to save," Sokoloff explains.

This unique model will stand in contrast to past budget meetings, in which officials pretended to listen as especially extroverted citizens gave impassioned monologues.

The forums are likely to echo PPCE's two-year-old "Great Expectations," project, which has worked with some 2,500 participants to date. With the budget forums beginning tonight, we got to wondering how participants in that process viewed their experiences, and whether they felt past meetings accomplished anything.

The Rev. Adan Mairenas of the West Kensington Ministry at Norris Square participated in a Great Expectations forum in Northeast Philadelphia. "We broke up into groups, where we discussed the environment, education, crime and the economy," says Mairenas.

Mairenas sensed frustration among some, but not all, of his fellow participants regarding the forum's productivity. "Some people want immediate results. You know, sitting at a table and breaking down the issues and the causes, effects and roots of where [a problem] comes about is hard work. These forums were good for people who want to be heard but also for those who want to think. You never know what seeds are planted in the hearts of our elected officials when they come to these forums."

John Weidman and his wife Ebony Staton Weidman hosted a Great Expectations meeting at their home two summers ago. About 30 guests, including future Mayor Nutter, squeezed under their roof to eat lasagna and talk about making Philadelphia a better place. It was fun. "People started talking about how they felt, and it was neat to see Nutter and his Republican opponent [Al Taubenberger] speaking to that," says Ms. Staton Weidman. But her husband wonders if public officials really learn anything about citizen concerns from such meetings. "It's hard to connect all the dots with so many to be addressed." he says.

Matt Ruben, a Northern Liberties community leader, feels that PPCE has done a great job in the past at boosting civic participation and giving local leaders a more balanced perspective on their constituency. But he has doubts about the approaching forums.

"There's a limit to the citizen action that can take place here. It's not about everyday people putting their stamp on budget cuts. Educating people and helping people understand what cuts are going to happen is good work, but the city officials will have to take responsibility," he says.

He's right, of course — the ultimate decisions rest with elected officials. The forums are just intended to allow them to factor in the public's preferences. If they don't — well, that's what elections are for.

(editorial@citypaper.net)

If you plan on attending one of the budget forums, you should show up before the 7 p.m. start time to register. Each forum will last until 9:30 p.m. and will accommodate up to 200 people on a first-come, first-serve basis. Thu., Feb. 12, Northeast, St. Dominic's School, 8510 Frankford Ave. Wed., Feb. 18, Germantown, Mastery Charter School, Pickett Campus, 5700 Wayne Ave. Thu., Feb. 19, South Philadelphia, St. Monica Catholic School Gym, 16th and Shunk streets. Mon., Feb. 23, West Philadelphia, Pinn Memorial Baptist Church, 2251 N. 54th St.