주민참여예산제도의 활성화 방안에 관한 연구

Abstract

Abstract

The Activation of Civil Pariticipatory Budget System : A Case Study of Buk-gu, Gwangju

Song, Kwang-Un Advisor : Prof. Seo Kee-Jun, Ph. D. Department of Political Science and Diplomacy Graduate School of Chosun University

This study deals with the civil participatory budget system that has been implemented since 2003 in local governments of Korea. This system has been in use by local administrations for seven years, but civil participation, which is a prerequisite condition for the successes of the system, has been very limited so far. Assuming that civil participation should be active in the overall budget operation of local administrations, this study examines the current civil participatorybudget system which Buk-gu, Gwangju introduced for the first time. In addition, this study attempts to develop models of the civil participatory budget system based on the comparison of other cases, including those cases of Portu Alegrecy, Brazil and Dong-gu, Ulsan and Daeduk-gu, Daejeon, Korea. This study utilizes a survey interviewing residents, civil members and public servants in Buk-gu district office, and local councilors. The survey includes several question items asking respondents' opinion about the civil participatory budget system. The responses are analyzed with the Cross-tabulation Analysis and the main findings are as follows: First, a majority of the respondents are aware of the participatory budget system, which implies that the system enters into the stage of practical application in the seventh year of its implementation. The respondents, however, considered a lack of professional knowledge as a barrier to civil participation, which indicates that systematic efforts to reinforce the quality of information and expertise for the residents who what to join the system are necessary. On the degree that residents'suggestions are reflected, most respondents confirm that they are highly satisfied with the management of the system. On the issue of its management, however, representative residents and public servants answered a lack of expertise on the budget management, and local councilors answered a lack of intention to provide information of administrative organizations. Residents, representative residents, and local councilors considered active attention of the district heads and their intention to develop it as foremost, which implies that district head' intention and residents' active participation are needed for the continuous development of the system. In addition, a notable difference exists between opinions of residents and public servants due to their perception on the system, which suggests that a two-way communication network should be developed. On the issue of the coverage of the participatory budget system, respondents consider the its institutional management active now as foremost, but there is a high proportion of respondents answer that the coverage should be extended, which indicates that we should expand the preparation of civil participation over the budget. When the relationship betweenlocal councils and civic committee were considered in the introductory stage, the respondents answered that the council should cooperate to find out a solution with the residents as quickly as possible, which indicates that cooperative relations between them should be developed for the successful management of the system. Base on the analysis of the survey, the following suggestions for the better implementation of the system are made. First, to encourage residents to participate in the system, a special committee should be established to speak for the interests of the elderly, the disability, multi-cultural families, and children. In addition, a dynamic communication system should be developed, active participation of civic organizations should be induced, and strong intention of district heads is needed. Second, to expand the coverage of the participatory budget system, civil participation should be extended even to those sectors of local tax collection, execution and closing of budgets, and to special accounting in general accounting, and the first supplementary budget in the main budget. Third, to develop a path to have easy access for residents, the active management of an e-budget homepage and the establishment of a deliberation committee to respond even to insignificant opinions of residents through a budget suggestion system are suggested. Fourth, to develop an organized educational system that reinforces expertise of residents who directly participate in the participatory budget system, the establishment of a civil participatory budget university as a permanent educational system and the budget exposition which is designed to introduce models of civil participation and good examples of local governments are suggested. Fifth, as an evaluation and feedback system is needed for the consistent developmentof the system, a budget evaluation team that evaluates the management results of the system regularly as necessary and an incentive system that financial rewards residents who present superior opinions are suggested. Finally, this study concludes that various models of the civil participatory budget system that fit into the regional characteristics should be created that they can contribute to the promotion of active participation of residents. It is certain that the participatory budget system based on active civil participation provides a great chance to realize fiscal democracy and civic democracy.