No matter where you live, you pay local taxes. Some are sales tax or property tax. Some taxes are tacked on to your utility bills. And then there are hotel room taxes, fuel taxes and parking fines.
All that cash goes somewhere. Some gets spent on stuff like parks and potholes, and some gets invested. In each case, someone decides where the dough will flow. Will it go for more bike lanes, or for more parking? What about a needle exchange, or a great recycling program? These are important questions, and you should have a say.
Crashing the local budget party isn't that hard. You can usually get on a local finance committee just by stepping up. There just aren't that many people who get involved, which leaves a lot of spots open.
To start, make a list of the top five things you'd like your town to fund, and the top five things you'd like it not to fund. When you're done, call City Hall and talk to the people who make the decisions. Tell them your name, what you want, and why. And tell them that you'll be checking back with them.
Remember, you paid your taxes, too. That makes you entitled to be the boss of how the money is spent.
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