Inner boundary reform in Kosice: The most fragmented city in Slovakia

Stela Csachová

doi:10.5937/geopan1603152c

Abstract

In the first part of the paper the aim is to provide the reader with a theoretical insight into models of government structure at the local level and provide evidence from European countries that underwent reforms during the second half of the 20th century. In the Slovak Republic (Slovakia) the renewal of local self-government in 1990 brought changes to the administrative boundary map with more than 200 municipalities reestablished bringing the current number to 2,929 local administrative units. This has resulted in some discussion regarding a reduction in the number of local government units in this country. The second part of the paper is focused on Košice; the second largest city in Slovakia with 234,000 inhabitants. The city is organised at two administrative levels; one covering the whole city, the other covering 22 wards. When compared to cities of a similar size, Košice has been criticised for its high number of city wards and councillors, with the concomitant financial inefficiency it can bring. There has been an ongoing debate on reducing their number since 2010. The paper reports on the search for an administrative structure that would best tailor to the citizens' needs and provide effective management in Košice. It uses traditional methods of qualitative research (historical method, content analysis and synthesis) accompanied by statistical data organised in tables and figures.

Highlights

Slovakia adopted a dual model of public administration after 1989
To understand the inner structure of Košice, we made a simple classification of city wards inspired by Hinnerich (2009) showing the example of Swedish boundary reform
The city of Košice has been recently considering whether the inner boundary amalgamation, the result of which larger administrative units are to be created, would bring the expected savings

Summary

Introduction

Slovakia adopted a dual model of public administration after 1989. It operates as two separate entities; local government and state administration. Having reflected on the territorial administrative structure of Slovakia, there have been discussions (Lovacká, 2009; Csachová, 2013; Klimovský 2014) on the necessity of realising local government reform and maintaining a better quality of public service provision. The city of Košice, as the second largest city in Slovakia with 234,000 inhabitants, is administratively organised on two tiers – the upper tier (a city-wide self-government) and the lower tier (local self-government in city wards).

Results

Conclusion