CITY OF RIJEKA Citizen participation in decision making and budgeting in the City of Rijeka

1. CITY OF RIJEKA Citizen participation in decision making and budgeting in the City of Rijeka Ante Mađerić Mayor's Senior Consultant – Financial Affairs Specialist

2. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN DECISION MAKING - Since 2011 E-consultations - Since 2013 Consultations with the interested public INCLUSION OF CITIZENS IN BUDGETING: - Since 2004 Development and maintenance of utility infrastructure facilities according to citizens' suggestions, the so-called Utility Priorities (small campaigns) Program - Since 2005 Rijeka's local partnership program - Since 2011 Educational online budgeting game "Proračun(ajme)"

3. E-consultations (introduced in 2011 according to good practice examples across the world): • Detailed, informative and educational, introductory text (links to documents, overview of good and bad sides of a certain decision, indicative questions, motivation for discussion) • Information on the duration of the consultations and the deadline for the publishing of results/conclusion • Survey • Possibility of comments and discussion • Notifying the media • Binding conclusion after the consultations Statistics of 7 conducted consultations: 1,560 citizens participated in the consultations by filling out surveys or writing comments

4. Consultations with the interested public (introduced in 2013 as a legal obligation following a prescribed implementation model) • Draft decision as a pre-generated working document • Explanation of the decision which need not be of educational purpose • Consultation form which has its form and eliminates the possibility of more free comments, discussion or survey • Report on conducted consultations which has its form and presents a list of adopted and unadopted proposals with brief explanations The statistics of 12 conducted consultations with the interested public 36 citizens participated with their proposals in a total of 3 topics; in the other 9, no remarks/proposals of individuals, associations or bodies have been delivered.

5. A topic for consideration and further discussions... • A relative absence of citizen participation in the legally prescribed model of citizen inclusion in decision making (consultations) has been observed • High level of citizen participation in a more free, creative and interesting approach (E-consultations)

6. PARTICIPATIVE BUDGETING THE BUDGET OF THE CITY OF RIJEKAapp. HRK 800 mil. RIJEKA'S LOCAL PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM(app. HRK 200,000) SMALL UTILITY-SCALE CAMPAIGNS PROGRAM (app. HRK 10 mil.) ONLINE BUDGETING GAME "PRORAČUN(AJME)" CITIZENS

7. Proračun(ajme) In 2011, Rijeka launched an educational online budgeting game called Proračun(ajme) Objectives: • Educate the citizens on how the budget is created, based on which laws and ordinances, and its elements • Inform the citizens on the items and amounts of the current budget • Enable the citizens to participate in the creation of the budget • Plan and adopt the budget considering the needs and suggestions stated by the citizens

8. Introductory page. Introductory text on the general overview of the current budget. Educational part:links on keywords explained in the footer, explanation links to laws, ordinances and other documents.

9. Participative part:citizens select the offered projects which are not included in the current budget. Maximum amount: 60 million. Projects categorized within simplified budgetary items. In the footer, a detailed description of each of the offered projects. The amount required for realization also stated.

10. Informative part: items and amounts of the current budget. Each item is elaborated in more detail regarding the projects funded through the current budget. Individual projects are described in the footer.

11. Game:By reducing the items of the current budget or by increasing the utility fee, citizens can ensure funds for realizing the previously selected project. Alarms notify the player when a certain item of the current budget is decreased.

12. The report is visibleafter the entireamount for realizing the selected project has been secured. The report contains: • Selected projects • Amount secured for their realization • Top 5 selected projects (based on the statistics of other citizens who played the game) • The list of alarms (informing the citizen of all the items he/she has signed away from the current budget to realize the selected projects)

13. Comparison of the current budget with the budget created by the citizen through the game • Additional participation: field for entry of proposals for projects the citizen wishes to realize, and which he/she has not found in the list offered before • Possibility of sharing the game on social networks

14. Publishing of information: - www.rijeka.hr - www.mojarijeka.hr - www.vojko-obersnel.com Direct two-way online communication: - Rijeka on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, G+ and YouTube. - the Mayor on Facebook and Twitter - the column „Pitajte, odgovorit ćemo“(„You ask, we answer" ) on the www.rijeka.hr portal, - the column „Tužibaba“ („Tattletale”) on the www.mojarijeka.hr portal - e-mail addresses, of which as much as three official Mayor's e-mails Other: - online application „Social Program“ - a number of e-services, such as Insight into Cases - online forms for using city administration services

15. Playing the Proračun(ajme) game http://www.vojko-obersnel.com/hr/proracunaj-me/2015 The game can be accessed directly or through the banner on the Mayor's web page www.vojko-obersnel.com and from the city portals www.rijeka.hr and www.mojarijeka.hr