Richmond residents with ideas about how the city should spend its money can now pitch them to city officials as part of a new $3 million initiative years in the making.

The Richmond People’s Budget officially launched Tuesday afternoon with an event that brought roughly 60 residents of the city and the surrounding counties to Abner Clay Park. City Council members and organizers were present to celebrate the program’s start and encourage the public to take an active part in deciding to improve the city.

“This is a chance for us to go, ‘Let’s show you how city government can work for the people and by the people’.”said 1st District Councilmember and mayoral candidate Andreas Addison, who first began efforts on the program through a resolution in 2019.

Addison was joined by council members Katherine Jordan, 2nd District, Cynthia Newbile, 7th District and Nicole Jones, 9th District. They and other council members will assist with developing ideas from their constituencies.

The People’s Budget is centered around a process called participatory budgeting, which will enable residents to determine how allocations of funds will be spent during the city’s next fiscal cycle. Funded projects must be implemented within a year, not require changes in city policy, not promote religious or political beliefs, must be on city property and avoid funding school initiatives and projects.

The process was initially approved in 2019, but was paused when the pandemic began, and picked up again with the creation of a steering committee in 2021. Most of the funding will be divided among the city’s districts in $200,000 allocations, according to information on the People’s Budget website. The remaining $1.2 million will be distributed across the city with a focus on “districts with the highest social vulnerability.”

North Side resident and High Club Productions creator Ivan Haynes was interested in the potential good that could be done around the city, bringing attention and money to underserved properties and encouraging community involvement.

“There’s a lot of buildings that aren’t being used right now that can be used for something important,” Haynes said.

RVA Transit Ambassador and city resident Courtney Farrar pointed out the need for a farmer’s market or a recreational and education area for children in the open areas and lots that sit unused in her district.

Questions and concerns remain despite the bright mood of the event. North Side resident Alex Caligiuri was skeptical about whether the projects developed would be fully implemented, while Leslie Brown of Manchester was somewhat disappointed by the initial amount of money allocated.

Both nonetheless hoped the program would work and lead to better things for the city and more opportunities and resources for residents to make their voices heard.

“We got invited to the table,” Brown said. “Maybe we’re getting a smaller plate, but we’re at the table.”

Those interested in participating must be at least 14 years old and a Richmond resident.

For more information, visit rvapb.org.