Citizen participation in the budget process: the effect of city managers

Abstract

Much of the literature on citizen participation in the budget process links the council-manager form of government with higher levels of citizen participation, assuming the council-manager form represents professional administration. This is contradictory to the reality that different forms of government have "borrowed" features from each other and many now have mixed forms of government (i.e., adapted). The literature also contains ambiguities about city managers' role in participatory budgeting. We review the literature and identify three competing theories about the role of professional managers in the budget process. We directly examine the effect of city managers in terms of their professional dimensions, institutional environment, and individual willingness to represent citizens. Using survey data from Florida, we demonstrate that managers' professionalism, perceived political environment, and attitude toward citizen input are important factors explaining local governments' adoption of participatory budgeting.

Citizen Participation in Local Budgeting: Mechanisms, Political Support, and City Manager’s Moderating Role

“…We use population size, racial homogeneity, local revenue per capita, and the way in which the mayor is selected as indicators of community characteristics. While some studies find a positive impact of population size and homogeneity on citizen involvement (Edbon & Franklin, 2006;Zhang & Yang, 2009), others find the opposite (Kelleher & Lowery, 2004;Yang & Callahan, 2005). We hypothesize that larger and more diverse communities are more likely to incorporate citizen input in budgeting decisions for the reason that they have more resources and face more competing demands in formulating budget (Protasel, 1998;Ebdon, 2000).…”

“…Studies have investigated the direct influence of city managers on public participation in budgeting (Almy, 1977;Ebdon, 2000;Franklin & Ebdon, 2005;Marlowe & Portillo, 2006;Zhang & Yang, 2009;Zhang & Liao 2011). The attitude of managers toward public participation is identified as an important predictor (Yang & Callahan, 2007;Zhang & Yang, 2009).…”

“…The attitude of managers toward public participation is identified as an important predictor (Yang & Callahan, 2007;Zhang & Yang, 2009). However, attitude alone cannot accurately predict a manager's behavior in terms of incorporating citizens.…”

“…Our dependent variable-the level of citizen participation in local budgetingconsists of three dimensions: (1) public communication, (2) public consultation, and (3) public dialogue and negotiation. Given the significant role of managers in engaging citizens in local budgeting (Zhang & Yang, 2009), each dimension was measured on a 1-5 scale (1=never, 5=always) by managers' responses to questions in the following areas: 1) the extent to which the municipal government makes the proposed budget document available to the public prior to adoption (public communication), 2) the extent to which the municipal government sends the proposed budget summary to residents for comment during the consideration process (public consultation), and 3) and the extent to which the municipal government considers recommendations on the proposed budget from citizen groups or committees (public dialogue and negotiation). 1 We use city managers' perception to measure political support.…”

“…Regarding the question of what causes a local government to involve citizens in budgeting, scholars have identified the following factors: 1) environmental factors, such as the political culture, the form of local government, community size, and heterogeneity; 2) the utilization of engagement mechanisms, such as public hearings, citizen surveys, and advisory committees; 3) policy process design, such as timing and the solicitation of participants; and 4) the role of public administrators, particularly the professionalism and attitude of city managers toward citizen participation (Ebdon & Franklin, 2004;Franklin & Ebdon, 2005;Yang & Callahan, 2005;Ebdon & Franklin, 2006;Marlowe & Portillo, 2006;Zhang & Yang, 2009;Zhang & Liao, 2011).…”