How much does the process cost to the municipality and how are these covered?
The Participatory Budget implies a series of costs for the local government. To implement a Participatory Budget properly, four types of resources are needed: a)municipal staff committed and trained to implement the process, including being willing to work nights and weekends, b) means of transportation to be able to circulate throughout the neighbourhoods and transport the municipal staff, c) ample communication resources in order to share information with the public, d) personnel for the technical, economic and budgetary feasibility studies of the prioritised demands. In addition, to accelerate the process and ensure its quality, it is important to have resources to transport people who live far from the meeting places and to train functionaries as well as citizens, and in particular delegates, in the Participatory Budgeting process. Cities that have not planned for these costs have, in general, faced difficulties and, in some cases, have even suspended the activity. Therefore, it is important to do a cost/benefit analysis before deciding to implement a Participatory Budget.
The cost/benefit analysis must consider the contributions of the communities and the leveraging of the social capital produced, particularly through their participation in the execution of the projects. If the process remains only at the level of consultation, the costs to the municipality are greater because the local administration has to repeat the discussions twice: once in the Participatory Budget and again internally in the administration. If the Participatory Budget bodies can make decisions (deliberative power), this can save staff time and costs because the decision-making process is shorter and simpler than the traditional bureaucratic process.
It is difficult to give indications of absolute numbers, given the variations of the costs of personnel, transportation and the production of communication materials in each place. By way of example, the city of Porto Alegre (pop. 1.4 million) sets aside over US$ 250,000 annually for the implementation of its Participatory Budget. This expense can easily be covered in poor cities through international cooperation.
Unfortunately, at the present time, it can be observed that international resources are often accompanied by technocratic orientations "from above" and requirements which may distort the local process and creative solutions of the citizens and local governments themselves.
The PB Unit is currently undertaking some research and evaluation into the costs of participatory budgeting for local authorities as part of a wider evaluation of PB in the UK. This information will be available on the website in the 'evaluation' section for organisers and also through the case studies on the website.
