Background

• The Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) hopes to implement a participatory budgeting project as a means to gain the perspectives of residents of Isla Vista on potential projects we should prioritize and fund in our next fiscal year. 
• Participatory Budgeting is a democratic process in which community members decide how to spend part of a public budget.
• The annual budget of the IVCSD must be approved and established by the end of May 2019, meaning that we have a more limited timeline than is typical to implement the steps of participatory budgeting. 
• This will only be the second annual budget that the IVCSD has created, and the first time it will attempt to engage in a formal, community-engaged process to do so. 
• PB dedicates anywhere from 1% up to 10% ($8,500-$85,000) of the available funds to the specific one-time projects identified through the process.

Through a combination of outreach strategies, including an online survey, door-to-door canvassing, a public forum, and project proposal submissions, the main budgeting ideas and priorities of Isla Vista residents were:

• Public Safety - specifically in relations to improvements with law enforcement
• Community Facilities - more facilities and classes aimed at improving the community
• Housing Mediation - give support to students living in poor housing conditions 
• Public Works Improvements - improve the infrastructure, cleanliness and lighting
• Parking/Transportation - create more parking or public transportation options
• Community Planning - improve the communication between the government and the community

For more detailed breakdown of the community outreach results, please see here