| Implementing Participatory Budgeting (PB), despite the notable successes in China, Lithuania, and New York, is often challenged by poor citizen involvement, incompetence of officials, and insufficient discretionary funds. The specific problem was that recent studies were conflicting with respect to how to implement successful PB through best practices within the US context. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study is to examine successful PB in US municipalities, as well as its challenges, and sustainable citizen involvement in the PB process, through the Theory of Deliberative Democracy. The outcome of this study was to explain the value of PB and provide data for elected officials to use in the implementation of sustainable PB programs. Data collection involved the electronic distribution of a 5-question questionnaire to gather information from seven government officials, i.e. city council members, aldermen, and Mayors who represented municipalities that incorporated PB into their municipal governance. The population was 70 elected officials with a sample of seven respondents who represented the task forces responsible for implementing PB in four US cities. The findings in the study were best explained by The Theory of Deliberative Democracy and how it relates to the PB process in that it involves open discussion between citizens of equal status. In the PB process, every participant speaks freely about his or her concerns and desires functioning under the fundamental idea of society as a fair system of cooperation. Future research is recommended with increased population and sample beyond elected officials to include citizens who have participated in the PB in their locality. Doing so could heighten the credibility of the study by virtue of the additional points of view, experiences, and opinions surrounding the PB process. |
