Involvement of citizens in municipal budget planning in Latvia

Abstract

The manifestation of democracy in local government development planning is the involvement of citizens in this process. Although municipalities are much closer to residents than national-level administrative institutions, the involvement of residents in the work of municipalities largely depends on the openness and willingness of municipalities to cooperate with residents. Residents’ interest in the development of their municipality is related to their interest in the process and knowledge of municipal budgeting. The purpose of the study is to investigate the involvement of citizens in the process of developing the budget of their municipality, while the tasks are the theoretical basis for planning the municipal process and to analyse the interest in the municipal budget process and the reasons for studying the municipal budget. The empirical study used a survey that was sent to randomly selected residents of Latvian municipalities. As a result of the study, recommendations were developed as to why and how involvement in the budget development planning of one’s municipality can take place.