Washington asks citizens how to fix the state budget

Washington has launched an interactive site that will let the public submit and vote on ideas for the state’s budget. The IdeaScale site, like others before it, offers any visitor the chance to submit their idead and other users will be able to give it a vote of agree or disagree. The top rated ideas that come out of this experiment will be considered by state budget writers.

The Governor plans to use the site feedback as part of her research for developing Washington’s 2011-13 spending plan. Moderators will wade through submissions and post ideas between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. local time. Moderators are being used to ensure that no vulgar postings make it through to the public site.

The site is part of the Governor’s broader budget formulation plan called, “Transforming Washington’s Budget.” Under the plan, the Governor will be testing the current system against eight questions designed to identify essential services and areas for improvement.

“Closing our state’s budget gap requires innovative thinking as well as making some tough decisions,” Gregoire said. “This interactive website gives people an opportunity to share ideas and engage in a discussion about what ideas might work best for us. I’m eager to hear what people have to tell us.”

Users can submit or vote on ideas here.