A local resident is taking part in day long conference at the White House on Participatory Budgeting at the national level.
Natasha Soto, an organizer for the Clean Air Coalition, is also taking part in Participatory Budgeting pilot program in the City of Buffalo. Soto says Participatory Budgeting allows regular community members to make decisions about where public dollars go.
"A lot of times decisions are made at City Hall without a lot of accountability or transparency and this puts the power right in the residents' hands," said Soto. She's looking forward to learning how Participatory Budgeting fits into President Obama's "Open Government" initiative.
As part of the pilot program, the Buffalo steering committee will be finalizing a ballot in the coming weeks on how to spend $150,000 in the Masten District.