ABSTRACT
Institutionalized citizen participation in the management processes of American cities has become an increasingly important element of municipal government. To some degree, this is the result of federal government mandates for citizen participation in grant programs and state government requirements for open meetings (Sharp: 1990, p. 79). A 1979 report identified 155 federal programs that included a provision for citizen participation (Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations: 1979). A second factor is the recognition by city officials of the need and usefulness, politically and otherwise, to “stay in touch” with the views of the members of the community. Increasingly, this second factor has been addressed through the use of citizen surveys (Brudney and England: 1982, p. 129).
