Hongcheon County expands communication channels by forming a resident opinion subcommittee for participatory budgeting

【Financial News Hongcheon=Kim Gi-seop Reporter】Hongcheon County has newly formed a resident opinion subcommittee under the Citizen Participatory Budget Committee to operate its Citizen Participatory Budgeting system more closely.
According to the county on the 31st, the subcommittee consists of 13 members who volunteered from among 44 budget committee members. It will serve as a channel for reflecting residents' opinions on major county projects in the budget.
The subcommittee held two meetings to prepare for drafting a resident opinion statement. At its first meeting, it provided members with a list of 45 projects that drew strong public interest, worth 230 million won, focusing on ongoing projects among major fiscal initiatives and multi-year participatory budgeting proposals. After review by the members, 24 projects worth 66 million won were selected as priority items. The county organized the detailed plans and outlines for these projects and distributed them to members in advance of the second meeting.
At the second meeting, with the help of an expert instructor on participatory budgeting and a meeting facilitator, members used the pre-distributed materials to gather opinions and prepare the basic data needed to draft the resident opinion statement. The statement will be finalized and approved at the full Citizen Participatory Budget Committee meeting on Sept. 3. The completed statement will be used as supporting material submitted to the county council when preparing the 2027 main budget.
A county official said, "The resident opinion statement is a process that reflects residents' voices in budgets and projects," adding, "The resident opinion subcommittee is a key channel connecting the county's major projects with the resident opinion statement."

[email protected] Kim Gi-seop Reporter