| Sumario: | Engaging citizens in the decision-making process is becoming an important priority for many local governments. This article evaluates three citizen engagement events in two jurisdictions in western New York: public forums held by the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority, Citizen Participation Academy, and Participatory Budgeting Project. Using in-depth interviews with public and nonprofit employees, the article outlines several findings, including a distinctly higher level of effectiveness of engagement strategies when advanced by not-for-profit organizations. The engagement initiated by state and municipal governments reflects authoritarian and bureaucratic models of participation. This study highlights several challenges to the sustainability of citizen involvement at municipal levels, and its results have important implications for other towns implementing participatory tools.
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