Narva-Jõesuu scraps participatory budget after nine rounds

The city council of Narva-Jõesuu in north-eastern Estonia decided on 28 October to abolish the existing participatory budget procedure, a mechanism in which residents themselves choose projects to be funded from part of the municipal budget. All 14 council members present at the session voted in favour.

Reasons for the decision

The explanatory note to the draft decision states that the participatory budget process in Narva-Jõesuu was held nine times, starting in 2018. Over that period, eight projects proposed by residents were carried out. In recent years, however, the authorities noted declining participation and repeated initiatives.

In recent years, 30,000 euros were allocated to the participatory budget annually.

Proposed alternative

As an alternative, the city proposes increasing support for non-profit activity. According to the authorities, the current support procedure allows residents, non-profit associations and other communities to apply with projects in culture, education, sport and local community development.

Objections

Earlier, city government member Lennart Lepajõe opposed scrapping the participatory budget entirely. In an interview with Rus.ERR, he said low resident participation is not in itself sufficient grounds for abandoning a mechanism that lets citizens choose projects for the urban environment themselves. In his view, funding initiatives directly from the city budget would not replace the participatory budget, because residents would lose the ability to decide for themselves how the allocated funds are spent.