O N I N C R E A S I N G P U B L I C P A R T I C I P A T I O N
I N T H E B U D G E T P R O C E S S
I n t e r i m U p d a t e - J u n e 2 0 2 6
C E N T E R F O R N E W
D E M O C R A T I C P R O C E S S E S
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
700 pages
30+ strangers
3 days...
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
What did we get
ourselves into?!
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
Assembly DEMOGRAPHIC TARGETS
# o f
P a r t i c i p a n t s
T a r g e t
M e t
A G E C O H O R T ( 1 8 + p o p . )
1 8 - 3 4
6 x
3 5 - 6 4
1 7
x
6 5 +
7 x
G E N D E R
F e m a l e
1 5
x
M a l e
1 3
x
N o n - b i n a r y / t r a n s g e n d e r / o t h e r 2 x
E D U C A T I O N A L A T T A I N M E N T
H i g h s c h o o l o r l e s s
3 u n d e r *
S o m e c o l l e g e / A s s o c i a t e ’ s
1 1
o v e r
B a c h e l o r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r
1 6
x
E M P L O Y M E N T S T A T U S
F u l l t i m e ( 3 5 + h o u r s / w k )
1 2
x
P a r t t i m e ( l e s s t h a n 3 5 h r s / w k ) 8 x
D i d n o t w o r k i n p a s t 1 2 m o n t h s
1 0
x
# o f
P a r t i c i p a n t s
T a r g e t
M e t
H O M E O W N E R / R E N T E R
H o m e o w n e r
1 4
x
R e n t e r
1 6
x
P A R T Y A F F I L I A T I O N
D e m o c r a t i c P a r t y
1 9
x
R e p u b l i c a n P a r t y
3 x
I n d e p e n d e n t / N o n e / O t h e r /
U n a f f i l i a t e d
8 x
R A C E
A m e r i c a n I n d i a n a n d A l a s k a N a t i v e , N a t i v e H a w a i i a n a n d O t h e r P a c i f i c I s l a n d e r a l o n e , s o m e o t h e r r a c e a l o n e , 2 o r m o r e r a c e s / o t h e r
5 x
A s i a n a l o n e
4 x
B l a c k o r A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n a l o n e 4 x
H i s p a n i c o r L a t i n o ( o f a n y r a c e ) 4 x
W h i t e / E u r o p e a n - A m e r i c a n a l o n e 1 3
x
* E d u c a t i o n a l a t t a i n m e n t r e f l e c t s g a p b e t w e e n n u m b e r o f v o l u n t e e r s w i t h “ H i g h s c h o o l o r l e s s . ” R e c r u i t m e n t w e i g h e d “ S o m e c o l l e g e / A s s o c i a t e ’ s ” h e a v i e r i n o r d e r t o a c c o u n t f o r a l o w e r n u m b e r o f v o l u n t e e r s i n t h e f o r m e r c a t e g o r y .
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
Participant
NEIGHBORHOODS
P a r t i c i p a n t r e s i d e n c y w a s n o t i n c l u d e d a s a c r i t e r i a i n t h e l o t t e r y p r o c e s s d u e t o t h e h i g h n u m b e r o f n e i g h b o r h o o d s , t h o u g h r e s i d e n t s w e r e a s k e d t o i n c l u d e t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n w h e n t h e y v o l u n t e e r e d t o p a r t i c i p a t e . 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
B l a i r H i l l s *
B l a n c o / C u l v e r C r e s t
C l a r k d a l e
C u l v e r / W e s t
D o w n t o w n * *
F o x H i l l s
J e f f e r s o n * * *
L u c e r n e / H i g u e r a
M c L a u g h l i n
M c M a n u s
P a r k E a s t
P a r k W e s t
S t u d i o V i l l a g e
S u n k i s t P a r k
W a s h i n g t o n C u l v e r
*No Assembly volunteers located in Blair Hills.
**3 volunteers in Downtown; none selected by lottery.
***10 volunteers in Jefferson; none selected by lottery. © 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
Additional
PARTICIPANT INFO
P r i o r P a r t i c i p a t i o n i n C i t y B u d g e t E v e n t Y E S
5 2 5
N O
S e r v i c e o n a C i t y C o m m i t t e e o r C o m m i s s i o n ( e v e r ) Y E S
3 2 7
N O
16 average number of yearsliving in Culver City
From 1up to43 years
length of residency in Culver City
79%
of participants reported that they initially volunteered to support Culver City 100%
of Assembly memberswould join again
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
Introduction to the City of Culver City Government
Culver City Finance Department & Budget Process
Departmental Overview: Infrastructure & Innovation
Departmental Overview: Economic Development,
Vitality, & Equity
Departmental Panel A: City Clerk | Talent
Development, Labor, & Inclusion
Departmental Panel B: City Attorney | Fire | Police
Learning Program
ELEMENTS
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
D u r i n g t h e C i v i c A s s e m b l y ,
C i t y S t a f f s h a r e d a b o u t t h e g o v e r n a n c e s t r u c t u r e , o p e r a t i o n s , a n d s e r v i c e s p r o v i d e d b y t h e C i t y . T h e y a l s o i n t r o d u c e d p a r t i c i p a n t s t o t h e b u d g e t , b u d g e t p r o c e s s , a n d d i s c u s s e d h o w c o m m u n i t y n e e d s i m p a c t a n d s h a p e t h e C i t y ’ s b u d g e t a n d b u d g e t i n g p r o c e s s . © 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
P a r t i c i p a n t s a n d s t a f f e n g a g e d i n e x t e n s i v e q u e s t i o n a n d a n s w e r s e s s i o n s f o l l o w i n g e a c h p r e s e n t a t i o n , i n o r d e r f o r p a r t i c i p a n t s t o r e c e i v e a d d i t i o n a l d e t a i l a n d c l a r i f i c a t i o n a b o u t C u l v e r C i t y ’ s g o v e r n m e n t , C i t y b u d g e t , a n d b u d g e t p r o c e s s .
P a r t i c i p a n t s l e a r n e d h o w d i f f e r e n t C i t y d e p a r t m e n t s f u n c t i o n , p r o v i d e s e r v i c e s , d e v e l o p t h e i r a n n u a l b u d g e t r e q u e s t s , a n d e n g a g e w i t h r e s i d e n t s t h r o u g h o u t b o t h t h e i r d a y - t o - d a y o p e r a t i o n s a n d t h e C i t y b u d g e t p r o c e s s .
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
Participant Evaluation:
INFORMATION
I learned a lot about the
budget process and the
challenges and
opportunities the city
faces.
0 5 10 15 20 25
D isagree Strongly
D isagree
N etural
A gree
Strongly A gree
The inform ation I
received helped m e to
participate effectively in
the process.
0 5 10 15 20
D isagree Strongly
D isagree
N etural
A gree
Strongly A gree
The presenters delivered
useful inform ation.
0 5 10 15 20 25
D isagree Strongly
D isagree
N etural
A gree
Strongly A gree
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
Participants articulated challenges and opportunities related to increasing public participation in the budget process.
They then deliberated and weighed competing tradeoffs in order to prioritize them. © 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
Getting the voices of a diverse cross-section of the community is needed to truly represent the City’s priorities, but connecting with specific demographics can take extra work (such as low-income individuals and immigrants).
The public can be disconnected from how daily or regular interactions with the City lead to and inform budget development.
There are places within the budget that residents do not have an opportunity to impact directly, so participation with the budget process on these items is not possible.
People don’t know about the budget, feel unqualified to participate, and are afraid to ask questions or get involved.
Whether or not participation in the budget process is a priority for the general public: as long as services remain effective and satisfactory, the vast majority of the public probably doesn't have the time or inclination to drill down into the information.
People may not recognize that their lack of participation in the budget and budget process may have negative consequences (for the things they care about) after the fact.
The loudest voices should not always be considered the public majority.
SELECTED
CHALLENGES
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
Showing how participation resulted in nuanced or meaningful change based on the feedback the City received from the process. Promote the result and how the process shaped it.
Meeting people where they are at (block parties, neighborhood coffee shops, social studies classes, PTAs, etc.) is an opportunity to hear from more / different residents.
There are new ways to present budget information in simple, transparent, more accessible ways.
An opportunity to increase participation in the budget process is the relatively small size of Culver City. Residents might actually have more ability to communicate than they believe and city employees more capacity to absorb their concerns and input.
Perspectives from the small business community can supplement resident perspectives.
Communicating about key performance indicators can help residents see priorities and progress.
We have an opportunity to eliminate participation barriers within the budget process, so more residents' voices are heard by becoming conduits on behalf of our small neighborhood networks.
SELECTED
OPPORTUNITIES
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
POTENTIAL
ACTIONS
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
100+
potential actions to increase participation in the budget process identified by participants in the May 2026 Assembly
REVIEW REFINE PRIORITIZE
participants in the July 2026 Civic Assembly will work with and prioritize actions Participant Evaluation:
EXPERIENCE & PROCESS
I felt comfortable sharing
my opinions.
0 5 10 15 20
Disagree Strongly
Disagree
Netural
Agree
Strongly Agree
I felt comfortable asking
questions.
0 5 10 15 20
Disagree Strongly
Disagree
Netural
Agree
Strongly Agree
CNDP encouraged me
to think independently
and make up my own
mind.
0 5 10 15 20 25
Disagree Strongly
Disagree
Netural
Agree
Strongly Agree
I had an equal
opportunity to
participate in the
deliberations.
0 5 10 15 20
Disagree Strongly
Disagree
Netural
Agree
Strongly Agree
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
The Participants’ Experiences
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
“This work is hopefully helpful for decision-makers in achieving their goals, but it was also greatly beneficial to me as a resident. It made me much more aware of the opportunity that exists to get involved with and contribute to the city, and was very educational in understanding how the city functions - I’m excited for more of these opportunities in the future.” “This assembly was very interesting and eye-opening as to how the budget is influenced and determined. At first it was a bit daunting to go into a room filled with strangers, who also might be my neighbors, and discuss opinions about how I think things should be run. But just like classic Culver, everyone was genuinely welcoming and so friendly.
Made me feel so at ease so quickly.”
“The Civic Assembly was really instrumental in identifying the challenges, opportunities, and action steps to increase public participation in the budget process. The main thing is making residents aware that they can review and provide input on the budget either as a whole or on specific areas of the budget. It’s important that executives do their part in increasing awareness for Culver City residents, as well.”
“The city employees / managers care about what we, as residents, think to the point that they created this “think tank” to find out how they can reach us to get us involved. We spent three days actively working on getting more participation and the officials came down, spent time with us, and answered questions.”
“We, the residents of Culver City, desire to be co-creators with decision makers. We spent many days / hours coming up with ideas to help make that desire a reality. We care about our city and appreciate what you do to help make Culver City the place to be!”
“As a result of the work accomplished by the Culver Civic Assembly, the groundwork has been established to make the budget process as equitable and inclusive as possible. From the suggestions that were made, the next Civic Assembly can refine the actual ways to include as many citizens as possible.”
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
The Participants’ Experiences
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
Next Assembly Session: July 16 - July 18
Participant Recruitment
Refining & Prioritizing Actions + Defining Success
Final Report to Council
Coordination with City Staff to disseminate Assembly
results and respond to Assembly recommendations
WHAT’S NEXT?
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes
T H A N K Y O U !
© 2026 Center for New Democratic Processes