What is the role of local government throughout the process?

The local government’s role is decisive in each stage, from determining the priorities to the implementation of decisions. The local government facilitates the process, while the councillors legitimise it politically.  Another important function of the local government is the adoption by the administrative apparatus of the decisions made through participatory processes.  The local government is also a protagonist with the responsibility to create mechanisms which ensure a holistic vision of the problems and needs of the city. Therefore, it should present its own projects and place them for discussion in the Participatory Budget. It should be remembered that the government has a legitimacy that comes from winning an election. The Participatory Budgeting process, in this sense, should be a synthesis of two sources of legitimacy: one based on the participation of the citizens and another resulting from commitments made in the Plan of Government.