By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
The town of Bromont has set aside $60,000 to fund projects proposed by residents as part of its first-ever participatory budget initiative.
Residents have until April 30 to submit proposals on the city website, via email or in person at the town hall. Proposals will be accepted in three categories: youth (projects submitted by Bromont residents under age 25 focused on improving youth quality of life), collective (submissions by residents or groups of residents 18 and older), and seniors (submitted by people of any age, aimed at boosting quality of life, mobility and access to services for local seniors). Proposals will be analyzed by a city-appointed committee between May 1 and 23; the winning projects will be announced in June, and realized over the course of 2025.
An eligible project “needs to meet the [submission] deadline, needs to be doable over the course of 2025 and within the budget,” Mayor Louis Villeneuve explained. Projects that involve building “fixed infrastructures” must be on public land. “We will also look at the number of citizens who might benefit, the project’s alignment [with] municipal policy and strategy, the capacity of the city to realize it, the impact of any recurrent expenses, and geographical equity within the city. The committee will review all of the projects with a point system, and the projects with the most points will win.”
Similar initiatives, where cities earmark a specific amount of money for citizen-driven projects, have been established in Montreal, Longueuil, Laval, Granby and several smaller towns over the past few years. The town of Sutton launched its first participatory budget in 2023 and funded a turtle crossing and a new dog park; last year, Cowansville got on the bandwagon and funded an outdoor education space in the Parc des Colibris, to be completed by the end of 2025.
According to a participation document provided by the city, the participatory budget initiative “A “is a unique opportunity for citizens to get involved in community life; develop community-led projects and contribute to [community] development; understand the challenges of city management; create spaces for interaction and strengthening of the social fabric; contribute to the creation of a fairer, more equitable and more responsive city [and] make democracy more vibrant and closer to citizens.”
“I’m very curious and impatient to see what kinds of projects people are going to come up with,” Villeneuve told the BCN. “It’s a democratic process, and the goal is to involve people in town life.” He said he hoped the initiative would allow residents, including children and young adults, to better understand municipal governance.
He added that amid difficult and uncertain economic times, “little things can do us good,” and the participatory budget and the projects that come out of it are one way to integrate “little things” that might ordinarily go under the radar.
“We’re hoping to get the most [submissions] possible, for people to look at this project and think, ‘It’s possible for me to submit something,’” said the mayor. “Our ambition is for Bromont residents to come and sit down with us at the drawing board [and] add a touch of ‘proudly made by and for Bromont residents.’”
Residents can submit projects via the online form at bromont.net/administration-municipale/budget-participatif; download the form on the city website and scan and email the completed form to imagine@bromont.com; or pick up a paper form at City Hall, the Lucien-Parent Community Centre or the Pauline-Quinlan Library. Paper forms must be returned to the City Hall reception desk by the April 30 deadline.