King County Residents To Help Decide How $2.7 Million Is Invested In Skyway And White Center

Residents of Skyway/West Hill and White Center/North Highline will once again have a direct role in deciding how millions of dollars in King County funding are invested in their neighborhoods as the county launches its 2026 Participatory Budgeting process.

Approximately $2.7 million will be distributed through community-led grantmaking this year, with $1.6 million designated for Skyway/West Hill and $1.1 million for White Center/North Highline.

A newly convened Community Advisory Board made up of 29 residents and local leaders is developing the framework for how those dollars will be awarded. Board members are helping establish funding priorities, design the request for proposals, determine how applications will be evaluated and develop recommendations for distributing the money.

“The Community Advisory Board reflects what makes Skyway/West Hill and White Center/North Highline strong: diversity, lived experience, and a shared commitment to shaping a future rooted in community priorities,” said Leon Richardson, director of King County’s Department of Local Services. “We appreciate that community leaders and residents have stepped forward to help us put decision-making directly in the hands of people who live, work, and care for these communities every day.”

Participatory budgeting is designed to give residents greater control over how public dollars are spent in their communities rather than leaving those decisions solely to government officials.

King County launched its Participatory Budgeting program in 2021. Since then, residents have directed more than $20 million toward projects and programs in their communities.

Those investments have ranged from youth development and cultural preservation to public spaces and recreational opportunities.

Previous funding helped expand Speak With Purpose, a public-speaking program that provides in-school training designed to help young people advocate for themselves and their communities.

Participatory Budgeting dollars have also supported cultural art installations and a community garden at the new Black Panther Park in Skyway, construction of the Khmer Community and Cultural Center and free swimming lessons for low-income youth at Evergreen Aquatic Center in White Center.

For county officials overseeing the program, those projects illustrate a larger goal of giving residents more influence over decisions affecting their neighborhoods.

“The true measure of success is not the dollars invested; it is the power returned to community,” said Gloria Briggs, program manager of the Participatory Budgeting program. “Over the past five years, Participatory Budgeting has shown that when residents are trusted to lead, $20 million becomes more than an investment; it becomes a legacy of equity, partnership, and lasting community transformation.”

This summer, advisory board members have been establishing the governance and decision-making structure for the 2026 process and forming committees responsible for key elements of the grant program. Those include developing the request for proposals, determining the proposal review process, planning community outreach and establishing how funding recommendations will be made.

The board is expected to complete that work this summer.

King County expects to open the request for proposals near the end of August, allowing eligible community organizations and groups to seek funding for projects reflecting priorities identified by residents. Free technical assistance will be available to applicants.

Residents will have another opportunity to participate after the application process begins.

Later this summer, King County plans to recruit additional residents to serve as paid Community Proposal Reviewers. They will evaluate applications using criteria established by the Community Advisory Board and help develop funding recommendations.

The approach is intended to keep community members involved throughout the process, from establishing priorities to evaluating which proposals should receive public funding.

This year’s Community Advisory Board includes 15 members representing White Center/North Highline and 14 representing Skyway/West Hill.

White Center representatives are Carlisia Minnis, Carlos Jesus Fernandez, Carlos Roland, Claudia Veronica Guzman Gonzalez, Donna Chan, Frida Hernandez Perez, Heather Patrick, Irving Chu, Jennifer Landree, Jose Ortuzar, Quynh Trinh, Sam Townsend Jr., Sambath Eat, Sinina Moeun-Wildman and Sok Ouk.

Skyway representatives are Abdulahi Jama, Anesia Willaims, Brandon Houston, Cherryl Jackson-Williams, Eddie Edwards, Fayth Njenga, Imani Alade, La Tanya Horace DuBois, LaCretiah Claytor, Marcus Harden, Melissa Thelemaque, Michelle Barnes, Samuel Woldemariam and Taylor Nolan.