Fethiye residents will present their projects, the municipality will implement them

Fethiye Municipality is implementing an important initiative to increase participation in local governance and directly reflect citizens' demands into budget processes. In the briefing meeting organized in coordination with the Human Resources and Education Directorate and the Cleaning Services Directorate, the "Participatory Budget" model planned to be implemented in the 2027 budget was introduced.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Mayor responsible for Financial Affairs Bülent Turan said that the main purpose of the participatory budgeting application is to include the ideas and project proposals of the people of Fethiye in the municipality's investment and service planning. Turan stated that the project proposals received from citizens will go through a certain evaluation process, and projects found feasible will be included in the 2027 budget. Emphasizing that the aim is to directly reflect the needs and demands of fellow citizens in budget planning, Turan mentioned that this application will also strengthen citizens' participation in local governance.

Turan stated that the participatory budget model has been widely implemented in recent years, especially in European countries, and indicated that including citizens' demands in budget processes ensures a more accurate analysis of local needs. Turan noted that innovative and beneficial projects coming from citizens will also pave the way for their realization with municipal resources.

Mahmut Bayraktar, the Director of Cleaning Services, who spoke at the meeting, stated that the implementation would initially be carried out within the Cleaning Services Directorate. Emphasizing the importance of citizens sharing their suggestions about municipal services, Bayraktar stated that qualified and feasible projects that emerge could be evaluated and included in the 2027 budget.

Bayraktar stated that thanks to the digital system prepared by the municipality's Information Processing Department, citizens can review the project details, submit their suggestions electronically, and follow the process from start to finish. Bayraktar, who also asked the neighborhood headmen to convey this process to the citizens, emphasized that ideas aimed at improving cleaning services will especially guide the municipality. Bayraktar conveyed that the participatory budgeting application is planned to be implemented in other units such as the Directorate of Technical Works and the Directorate of Parks and Gardens in the coming years, and expressed that budget preparations will be shaped not only by the municipality administration but also with the contributions of citizens' opinions and suggestions.

With the participatory budgeting model to be implemented by Fethiye Municipality, it is aimed for city residents to participate more actively in decision-making processes, for needs to be identified more accurately, and for public resources to be used in line with the expectations of the society.

Municipal officials stated that the budget created with the contributions of citizens will significantly contribute to the emergence of projects that will shape the future of Fethiye.