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This article re-examines whether direct democracy mechanisms influence government fiscal behavior. The study builds on prior research by using a large sample of smaller U.S. cities, spending on specific policy areas, and an additional mechanism-the citizen advisory committee. These committees are included because they are prevalent in local government charters and are employed up front in the decision process. The results indicate that direct democracy mechanisms are either associated with higher spending levels or are not significant factors in spending decisions, indicating that local government fiscal behavior may be somewhat resistant to these types of institutional constraints.

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Citizen Participation in the Age of Contracting: When Service Delivery Trumps Democracy examines how and why public and private managers look to engage citizen participation in contract governance. Beginning in the 1960's two trends emerged: government contracting with the private sector for social services delivery and opportunities to engage citizens in governance. The authors' study focuses on the nexus of these trends by examining the use of citizen participation in social service contracts. The authors' literature review makes up the first two chapters. They summarize their methods in the third chapter, presenting them in greater detail in the appendices. They discuss the study's results in chapters four through eight. The authors' overall conclusion is that contract managers have not effectively engaged citizens in contract governance.

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