As is the case with many cities in California, the small city of Brea is grappling with a substantial budget deficit due to decreasing sales tax revenues and other effects of the present economic recession. Drawing on a tradition of more than twenty years of public engagement in Brea, city staff and officials began to involve residents in budgeting decisions through a series of public dialogues, surveys and a budget advisory group composed of 30-40 employees.Read more »
In 2005 the City of Morgan Hill was running a structural budget deficit and was spending its reserves or savings account to provide essential city services, such as administration, park maintenance, police and fire, and recreation. The community, including the city government, decided the best solution to the current finance crisis was to get the public more involved in the decision making process. In January through April of 2006, over 330 citizens of Morgan Hill participated in a series of Choice Dialogues (developed by Viewpoint Learning), to discuss city services and how to fund them.Read more »
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