The Taipei Department of Civil Affairs yesterday opened information desks at all 12 district offices to assist the public in proposing policies to improve their neighborhoods as part of Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) participatory budgeting policy.
Ko visited the Neihu District (內湖) office to announce the launch of the information desk service.
The mayor took part in a skit with several city employees at a makeshift counter, playing the part of an old man living in the Daan District (大安) who wants to see Daan Forest Park beautified, but is confused about what participatory budgeting is and how it works.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The employees gave Ko two forms — one an application and the other a form for submitting a proposal — and guided him through the process of filling out the forms.
“Will you put my proposal into practice? Are you for real?” Ko said during the skit.
“Of course it is for real, have you not heard how mean our mayor is? We have meetings at 7am and often work until late at night,” one of the employees said, prompting laughter from office staff and Ko.
More than 5,000 Taipei residents, including about 1,000 civil servants, have taken part in the formulation of city policies after the participatory budgeting channel was launched in late 2015, the mayor said.
The results have been a “big step toward direct democracy,” he said.
Sixty-six policies have been approved by city agencies, he said.
The policies proposed by residents deal with vastly different aspects of the city, but are mostly about improving neighborhood parks, he said.
The budgeting system is flexible: low-cost policies are carried out with available funds the year they are proposed, while those requiring more money are held over a year until new budgets are approved by the Taipei City Council, he said.
The department said that proposed policies are explained at district hearings before they are put to vote at a “residents’ assembly.”
The selected policies also need to pass a feasibility assessment before gaining final approval, it said.
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