HISTORY

Timeline of Budget Justice Organizing in Boston

2026

Clarified the People's Budget vision and FY27 budget priorities of housing, food access and immigration support via working groups and an assembly.

Organized thousands of residents to rally and testify at City Hall and contact City Councilors and Mayor about resident budget priorities.

As a result of our organizing the City Council amended over $11M in budget changes, $6.5M of which came directly from BBA demands.

BBA launches arts and culture committee and an Artist in Residence program

2025

In April we launched the People's Budget campaign, conducting 10 budget workshops, outreach at 50 community events and spoke to 700 residents by early fall about their budget priorities.

In November we held our first People's Budget Assembly to decide on budget priorities for the $4.8B operating budget.

2024

In April the BBA held a Grassroots Budget Briefing to lift up resident priorities in many issue areas and ask our City Councilors to support them in their operating budget amendments. We continued to advocate for 1% of the budget to be decided via PB.

In July, the first round of the city-wide Ideas in Action PB process kicked off with $2M. Bostonians submitted over 1200 ideas and 4,462 residents voted in January 2025.

2023

BBA made a public call for residents to express interest in joining the PB Advisory Board and organized to get someone from that resident slate on the board.

We called for a community-city co-led PB designed to advance racial and economic justice.

We won equity criteria and goals in the design, but the city declined to design PB around repair for BIPOC neighborhoods harmed by redlining and disinvestment.

We advocated that the city dedicate at least 1% of the city budget to participatory budgeting.

2022

Conception du processus de PB et rédaction d'une ordonnance municipale.

2021

Councilor Edwards files Charter Amendment. Voters come out in masses to vote in an overwhelming majority YES on question 1. Ballot wins with 67% voter approval

2020

Families for Justice as Healing conducts a community survey and publishes a people’s budget calling for an initial investment of $41 million into a Community Fund to be distributed through a Black-led Participatory Budgeting Process.

Les soulèvements de BlackLivesMatter créent une demande massive de financement, mais aussi de réinvestissement par le biais de la budgétisation participative.

2018-2019

Grassroots community organizers, researchers, and political leaders form a study group to research various ways of reforming Boston’s City Charter to increase equitable and participatory governance. This study group leads to the publication of “Rewrite the Rules: Democratizing city charters in Boston and beyond” (see Learn More).

2016

Lancement du projet Ujima, pratiquant PB d'un fonds d'investissement communautaire.

2015

As Black Lives Matter protests grew across the country in the 2010s, Boston youth began calling in 2015 to reinvest a $324 million police budget into community needs.

2014 - Maintenant

YLC continue en tant que programme du Dept. of Youth Engagement and Employment, sous la direction du Mayor's Youth Council.

2013 - 2014

Le projet "Youth Lead the Change" a été mis en place, avec l'assistance technique du Participatory Budgeting Project et du Center for Economic Democracy, avec un comité directeur coprésidé par la City School et le Boston Student Advisory Council.

2013

Le maire Menino, dans l'un de ses actes de départ en tant que maire sortant, a alloué $1 million du budget d'investissement de Boston à un processus de budgétisation participative pour les jeunes.

2013

Le conseiller municipal Tito Jackson a tenu la première audience publique sur le PB au conseil municipal.

2010

Right to the City Boston a adopté le PB dans le cadre de sa plate-forme politique.

2010

La Boston Workers Alliance a lancé la campagne "District Dollars" pour promouvoir le BP à Boston. Inspirés par la lutte annuelle pour augmenter le financement des emplois-jeunes, les membres de la BWA ont cherché des stratégies qui permettent à nos communautés de mieux contrôler le budget.