Participatory budgets are being introduced in communities of Chernihiv region

In Chernihiv, on August 15, experts, activists and representatives of AHs discussed the challenges and prospects of introducing participatory budgeting in territorial communities.

The participatory budget, or public budget, has begun to be introduced in the united communities of Chernihiv region. If this tool has been used in the regional center and cities of regional significance for several years, then communities, especially rural and townships, are only beginning to use this effective tool for activating residents and motivating them to participate in community life.

“The reform of local self-government has been going on for almost 4 years and most of us have already become convinced that the creation of united territorial communities (ATH) in itself does not solve anything. It is obvious that a sufficient community must have human resources, a strong financial base, and infrastructure. But in addition to these things, a prerequisite for a successful community is the civic activity of residents. In order for residents to influence the processes taking place in communities,” said the consultant of the Reform Office at the Chernihiv Regional Branch of the Association of Ukrainian Cities

Mykola Silenko

.

According to him, such activity can be implemented either through control or through participation. It is with the help of a participatory budget that you can involve the community, get new and interesting ideas, and strengthen the level of cooperation between local government bodies and community residents.

“The participatory budget is not aimed at solving any development issues, it is rather a mechanism for residents’ participation and fostering in citizens a sense of involvement in community affairs,” said the director of the Chernihiv Center for Retraining and Advanced Training

Volodymyr Boyko

.

“The purpose of participation is to attract and include public activity and “feedback” from residents on the plans that the authorities are building,” emphasized the financial advisor of the Chernihiv Center for Local Self-Government Development

Oleksandr Melnyk

.

In general, the experts agreed that the participatory principle of fund distribution should not be the basis for the implementation of large-scale infrastructure projects. It should be a tool for activating residents in the development of their community.

As the participants of the event noted, the Chernihiv region is already undergoing the process of implementing public (participatory) budgeting in territorial communities. Thus, in Sosnytsia, Ivanovska and Koryukivska communities, the first projects have already been implemented at the expense of participatory budgets. Menska, Kulykivska and Kozeletska AHs have already adopted relevant decisions and are also preparing to practice this.

The head of Ivanovska AH,

Serhiy Garus

.

– In 2017, we held a competition for the first time. Then only one participant submitted an application. It is nice that this is a young person (at that time an eleventh grader). The project was implemented. Considering that we had foreseen 100 thousand hryvnias for these needs, and used only a little more than 30, it was decided to announce an additional selection. And this time we have already received 3 applications from different settlements of the community. The community sees real results and starts working on its own.

In turn, about the problematic aspects and experience of implementing participatory budget projects in Chernihiv,

Dmytro Naumenko

, a lawyer of the public organization “MART” and a member of the working group on the implementation of participatory budgeting at the Chernihiv City Council, shared.

Several more Chernihiv communities are actively studying this experience and plan to introduce public budgets in the near future. In particular, the head of the Olyshivska AH

Serhiy Malets

and local public activist

Ivan Slavov

, noted that their community understands the importance of this mechanism for activating and participating residents in community life. Therefore, the community is currently working on developing a relevant regulation on the public budget for further approval at the local council session.

Program Manager of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights

Kateryna Dankova

spoke about the tasks of the project “Public Budget – a Dialogue Platform for the Government and the Community”, which is currently being implemented in Chernihiv, Sumy and Khmelnytskyi regions. In particular, the project provides methodological and legal support, advisory and expert support to communities interested in implementing participatory budgets, training and consulting for activists of initiative groups, educational work and assistance in the development and adoption of regulations on public budgets (participatory budgets).

The project “Public Budget – a Dialogue Platform for Government and Community” is implemented by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights in Chernihiv, Sumy and Khmelnytskyi regions with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).