procedure
The Monheim participation process is based on the tried and tested division of the participatory budget into a preparatory or information phase, a consultation phase and an accountability phase. In a three-week consultation phase, the citizens were able to express their opinion on the city's investments and to make their own proposals for spending, savings and additional income. The participation started with the introduction of the budget to the city council and ended with the start of the consultations there. In this way, the results of the participation could directly serve as a basis for decision-making for the budget decision. The administration then published on the platform the opinions on the ideas of the citizens, which a majority of the participants supported.
- Preparation and information phase (August-September 2012)
- Consultation phase (October-November 2012)
- Budget consultations in the Council and committees (November-December 2012)
- Accountability through advice and administration (November 2012)
Subject areas
- Overall administration
- Children, youth and family
- Schools and sports
- Education and culture
- Buildings and property management
- Order and social affairs
- Economic development and urban planning
- Construction
- Urban businesses
- Praise and criticism
aims
- Participation in investment planning
- greater transparency of the urban budget
- Opinion on urban projects
- Use citizens' ideas and knowledge in budgetary policy
Motives and history
Monheim am Rhein was one of the pioneers of presence-based participatory budgeting
in Germany, however, the administration put the project due to the high
Personnel expenses first. Only with the introduction of online participation in
In 2012, the additional burden on employees was minimized and
to enable permanent participation in the urban budget
Involved
The project was carried out by the Monheim city administration together with the external consultants of "wer denkt was GmbH", who, among other things, took over the technical implementation and moderation of the online dialogue. A total of 530 citizens have registered for the city's online participation. In addition to the participatory budget, this also includes a so-called “defect report”, with which concerns and infrastructure damage can be reported to the administration via smartphone app and on the Internet.
Influence, results and effects
The participation increased the acceptance for the urban investment planning. Also learned
the citizens know the basics of the municipal budget with just a few clicks. Several ideas have been taken up by the administration (e.g. when planning playgrounds or in the area of education and culture) or are being examined promptly. The administration was surprised by the quality of the contributions, which proved that the citizens
deal intensively with the information material provided.