Engaging Deliberative Democracy at the Grassroots : Prioritizing the Effects of the Fiscal Crisis in New York at the Local Government Level

This article discusses many of the factors contributing to the fiscal crisis at the local level in New York including historic decreases in federal and state revenue sharing, the imposition of a new property tax cap, the failure of New York to meaningfully address the subject of unfunded mandates on local governments, and the dependency of some local jurisdictions on the timely adoption of a state budget. The article then discusses concepts of deliberative democracy and how local residents might be engaged to become partners with local officials in making difficult fiscal decisions that impact all community residents. Public polling, participatory budgeting, collaborative decision making and citizen advisory committees are examples of models promoted as methods of enhancing civil discourse and public engagement in helping to set local fiscal priorities. The paper concludes with a recognition that “business as usual” is simply not sustainable and that while the state must do its part to ease some of the fiscal burdens, local government officials must return to the people who put them in office to seek more frequent input in an organized and methodical manner by employing one or more of the deliberative democracy techniques discussed