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ABSTRACT
Public consultations are a commonly used form of engaging local communities in public life. They may regard various matters relevant to a particular community. They include information, opinion research and a debate. Their effect is to develop the most optimal solution for interested parties. Thanks to them, self-governments on the one hand inform local citizens about their intentions, on the other - they allow the citizens to express themselves in a given matter. Wellconducted public consultations build a sense of local community and shared responsibility for the decision. Inhabitants who unite around common for them important for the implementation of tasks can affect the level of social dialogue and contribute to the feeling of greater responsibility for the use of public funds and transparency of decisions. The main goal of the article is therefore to draw attention to the importance of social consultations - not only mandatory - in the management of the local government unit. The article mainly used the method of desk research in the form of literature analysis of the subject, industry reports and exploitation of online resources, as well as case studies.
Keywords: citizens, local government, management, public consultations
1.INTRODUCTION
In the current concepts of management in public administration, including a self-government, a citizen is treated as a client for whom public services are created and directed, and as a partner who has a control function towards the state and activities carried out by the local government. The local authority is to support various forms of civic activity, creating various agreements of organizations, institutions and citizens. The citizen became an active subject in a decision making process. In recent years, active supplementation of the traditional tripartite dialogue (with the participation of trade unions, employers and public authorities) with nongovernmental organizations and individual citizens, can be observed. Different degree of involvement of citizens in the decision-making process concerning public life can be observed. Social consultation is one of the forms of citizen involvement. Public consultation is a process of dialogue between representatives of the authorities and residents, aimed at gathering votes of residents and on the basis of which the authorities take optimal decisions in public matters. On the so-called Arnstein's (2012) participation ladder, arranging various forms in terms of...