The Wilmington City Council is trying to get residents more involved in the city’s budget. They recently launched a citizen participation website that centers around financial decisions for next year.
The new website provides proposed budget documents, a list of questions Council will ask Mayor Williams’s administration in upcoming hearing and the subsequent responses. The website will publish all updates to the budget process.
City Council President Theo Gregory says the goal is to increase transparency and accountability.
"What we want to do is give the public an appreciation and an understanding of the challenges that the mayor, as well as his legislature, faces in terms of bringing forth a responsible budget," he said.
Even though budget documents can be dry and difficult to understand, City Council President Theo Gregory says the new website is just one way to improve transparency.
"We don’t look at the website as being the be all, end all for everyone. It’s just one more avenue. But there are other avenues that can be used," said Gregory.
Those other avenues include going to the meetings in person, or reading minute summaries on the Council website.
Gregory says that a week into the launch, the website has already gotten a substantial number of hits.
A hashtag has been created for discussions about the City’s proposed budget that take place on Twitter -- look for #WilmDEbudget.
