Philadelphia’s budget funds the services residents rely on every day—from public safety and sanitation to parks, libraries, housing, and neighborhood programs. But for many residents, the budget process can feel difficult to follow and even harder to influence.

Join the Committee of Seventy and the People’s Budget Office for a virtual conversation about how cities can make budgeting more transparent, accessible, and responsive to community needs.

Using the People’s Budget Office’s new report, Building an Equitable Budgeting Process for Philadelphia, this session will explore Philadelphia’s past budget reforms, highlight strategies being tested in cities across the country, and examine what it could take to make public participation more meaningful here in Philadelphia.

Committee of Seventy’s Vice President of Policy, Andrew McGinley, will join the conversation to provide additional context on how these ideas intersect with City Council, mayoral priorities, and the realities of local governance.

What You’ll Learn

• What equitable budgeting means in practice

• How Philadelphia’s current budget process works

• Past local efforts to make budgeting more participatory

• Six budget practices cities are using to increase transparency and public input

• Recommendations for Philadelphia’s future

This session is designed for residents, advocates, and anyone interested in understanding how public dollars are spent and how communities can play a stronger role in shaping those decisions.

Event Details:

• Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2026

• Time: 6 - 7 p.m. ET

• Location: Virtual, on Zoom