Nashville residents to decide how to spend $10M in relief funds: How to get involved
Cassandra Stephenson- Davidson County residents will pitch project ideas and vote on which ideas receive funding through a process called participatory budgeting.
- Nashville supported a smaller-scale participatory budgeting program in North Nashville in 2021 and 2022 using $2 million in city funds each year.
- $4 million of the $10 million countywide participatory budgeting allocation will go to projects in Nashville's most vulnerable areas.
Nashville is handing the reins to its residents to decide how to spend $10 million of federal pandemic relief funds.
The money — part of Nashville's $259.8 million in American Rescue Plan funding — will pay for a series of projects determined through participatory budgeting, a citizen-led process that allows residents to pitch and vote on projects to meet their needs.
Davidson County residents can submit an unlimited number of ideas to offset the COVID-19 pandemic's impact, and a resident-led group of delegates will review the ideas for eligibility and select 35 projects to place on a countywide ballot for voting this fall.
The funding will be weighted so 40% of the money will go to Davidson County's most vulnerable areas, in keeping with federal requirements.
The countywide process will expand and draw on lessons learned from two years of implementing a smaller-scale program in North Nashville. Metro Community Development Manager and former council member Fabian Bedne shepherded the program's first years, testing the model with the goal of helping to fill funding gaps in historically underserved communities.
"The fundamental thing that didn't change is my belief that people know what they need and what they want, and that if you give them the tools, they will make good decisions, and I think that the results of the effort prove once again that that's the case," Bedne said of the 2022 cycle in North Nashville.
Nashville's Council unanimously approved the $10 million allocation Tuesday.
"Now, residents all across Nashville will have the unique opportunity to direct Metro funds to projects that make their neighborhood better for everyone," Nashville Mayor John Cooper wrote in a statement following Metro Council's vote.
How it works
The process is fueled by residents from start to finish, Bedne said.
A steering committee composed of residents recommended by council members and the mayor's office will create guidelines for the process based on federal, state and city requirements, using Nashville's existing participatory budgeting guidelines as a template.
Then, any Davidson County resident can submit an unlimited number of project ideas within those guidelines by June 1.
A panel of "budget delegates" composed of residents recommended by the council and mayor will determine which ideas are eligible and condense them into a 35-item ballot by Sept. 1.
Any Davidson County resident age 14 and older will have the opportunity to vote on their top five projects in September and October. Residents can vote for projects anywhere in the county, regardless of what neighborhood they live in.
Voting opportunities will include:
- online via hub.nashville.gov
- paper ballots mailed to the Participatory Budgeting Nashville post office box
- paper ballots cast at polling locations throughout the county
Vulnerable areas will receive higher weight
The countywide process will use the CDC's Social Vulnerability Index, which uses 15 U.S. census variables to identify communities that may need the most disaster support, as an "objective measure" of Nashville's most vulnerable areas, Bedne said.
Of the $10 million, $4 million will be dedicated to projects in a collection of areas identified as the most vulnerable. More than 140,000 of Nashville's roughly 715,000 residents live in these vulnerable neighborhoods.
Votes will be counted in November, and projects will be selected for funding based on the number of votes they receive and the Social Vulnerability Index value of the area. Implementation is slated to begin in December.
Because funding for the two North Nashville cycles came from city capital spending dollars, project ideas were limited to one-time community projects with no recurring operating expenses that would last at least 10 years. The $10 million in American Rescue Plan funding has a wider range — it can be used for grants and one-time projects or services that offset the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
District 19 Council member Freddie O'Connell said Tuesday he'd like to track how many people participate, particularly unhoused individuals and those living in areas of concentrated poverty.
"I would want to avoid projects that further gentrification in areas where the area median income is rapidly changing and … to avoid scenarios where we are doing things to people rather than with people."
Bedne said the most important part of the process is outreach, which the city plans to do through mail, social media and other forms of contact, with an emphasis on reaching unhoused and vulnerable residents.
Announcement follows end of North Nashville 2022 cycle
This citizen-driven funding model has become increasingly popular in cities across the nation in the last decade. Nashville launched its first cycle in 2021, tasking North Nashville residents with deciding how to spend $2 million.
Residents submitted hundreds of project ideas. More than 500 residents voted in the first participatory budgeting process, selecting eight projects to fund, including speed bumps and upgrades to park facilities, pavilions and playgrounds.
The city funded a second $2 million cycle in North Nashville in 2022, with residents submitting nearly 400 project ideas and more than 3,000 residents casting votes on final projects.
Sara Davis, a North Nashville resident who served as a budget delegate in the 2022 cycle, said she thinks the model works well, though she would like to see improvements in efforts to engage community members and allow time for residents to brainstorm fresh ideas.
Her work focused on several requests for cleaning and repairing neighborhood waterways to prevent flooding, and voters ultimately approved drain upgrades on Moormans Arm Road and Whites Creek Pike.
The program couldn't address all of the deferred infrastructure needs in North Nashville, but it did draw attention and provide funding for some items that were priorities for the community, she said.
"It just really feels like a really good way to reach out to the community as an additional avenue to hear the voice of the citizens and residents and narrow into, neighborhood by neighborhood, what are our issues," Davis said.
The eleven projects selected from the 2022 cycle for funding include:
- A bus shelter 300 feet from 4007 Clarksville Highway
- Bordeaux Library land acquisition
- Upgrades to drains on Moormans Arm Road and Whites Creek Pike
- Speed cushions on Haynes Park Drive, Kingsview Drive and East Fairview Drive
- Improvements to Pearl-Cohn High School
- Playground equipment for preschool students at Ivanetta H. Davis Early Learning Center
- Traffic calming measures in Historic North Nashville
- Beautification of Hadley-Lillard Park
- An interactive chalk wall and improvements at Hartman Park
- Art and beautification for the Bordeaux Gateway
- Looby Community Center and Library Revitalization, including a mural and outdoor seating
How to get involved
Bedne urged any residents interested in participating as a steering committee member or a budget delegate to reach out to their council member or email pb@nashville.gov.
Residents can find their council member at nashville.gov/departments/council/metro-council-members.
Council members will each recommend two steering committee members (one full-time and one alternate) and three budget delegates (two full-time and one alternate). The mayor's office will choose five steering committee members and 10 budget delegates.
More information on the process and a sign-up option for newsletter updates can be found at nashville.gov/departments/mayor/participatory-budgeting.