How should the city spend $100K on Tacoma’s Eastside? You decide
The city of Tacoma is asking Eastside residents how it should spend $100,000 to improve the neighborhood.
The project is part of a participatory budgeting pilot program where neighbors who live, work and play in a community directly decide how to spend part of a public budget.
The funds can be used for physical improvement projects that benefit the public and have a one-time cost up to $100,000, according to the city. That includes local improvements to schools, parks, libraries, bus stops, housing and other public spaces.
Up to five ideas can be submitted online at engagetacoma.com. The city is hosting a launch party on Thursday at the Eastside Community Center, where the public can share ideas.
Ideas are being accepted through March 31. Of those, five to 10 proposals will be created. In May, the community will vote on which one to fund.
The project was funded through the city’s general fund.
Eastside was chosen to receive the funding because it has lower equity opportunities compared to other parts of Tacoma, according to the city’s equity map and the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s Communities of Focus.
The Engage Tacoma website encourages neighbors to “Dream big.”
“Invite all your friends, family and neighbors to participate,” the website states. “The point of Participatory Budgeting is to make this big $100,000 decision together as a community.”
So far, ideas have included funding playgrounds, parks, libraries, a basketball court and new streetlights.
About the event
What: East Tacoma Launch Party for $100K Participatory Budgeting Pilot
When: 6-8 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 27)
Where: Eastside Community Center, 1721 E. 56th St., Tacoma
A previous version of this story stated that the project is funded through Tacoma Creates. The funding is through the city’s general fund.
This story was originally published February 26, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
