Level Of Local Self-government Research Articles

Regulatory and Institutional Support of Public Administration in the Field of Physical culture and Sport in Ukraine

The author notes the importance of planning, policy measures and development strategies for the development of physical culture and sports. A large number of current regulatory documents, which reflect the attentive attitude of public authorities to the development and improvement of this area, is indicated. The structural components of the legal administration system in the field of physical culture and sports are characterized. The interpretation of sports legal relations is presented. Specific features of sports legal relations are noted. The main forms of state support for physical culture and sports are also identified. The contribution of local authorities of Ukraine in the implementation of state policy in the field of physical culture and sports is considered. The ambiguity of the legal regulation of the development of physical culture and sports is noted. The need to understand and distinguish between the field of physical culture and professional sports is emphasized. The state regulation of standardization in the researched sphere is considered. The absence of the term “standard” in relation to service quality management in organizations is indicated. The normative-legal acts, which partially determine the evaluation criteria in the field of physical culture and sports, are distinguished. The advantages of implementing a quality management system are indicated. The adopted Standards, the effect of which extends to the field of physical culture and sports, are considered. The principles of quality management system activity are presented and characterized: customer orientation, leadership, employee involvement, process approach, system approach to management, continuous improvement, decision-making based on facts, mutually beneficial relations with suppliers. The main problems and risks in the process of system implementation are noted. Emphasis is placed on the peculiarities of the implementation of the quality management system at the level of local self-government. The requirements for the preparation of mandatory documentation are listed and described. The content of the implementation plan is noted. Emphasis is placed on the expediency of determining senior management and officials on specific examples. The need for local government administration to systematically confirm its compliance with the quality management system has been identified. Requirements to representatives of higher governing bodies are defined. The impossibility of the self-government body to satisfy the requirements of all clients within the framework of the legislation and the approved budget is emphasized. The key task of senior management is described. The components of an important triple task of senior management in the context of implementation, operation and continuous improvement of the quality management system are listed. The importance of emphasizing the consolidation at the state level of tests and standards for assessing the physical fitness of the people of Ukraine was emphasized.

FISCAL SPACE FOR EMERGENCIES IN MUNICIPALITIES

Abstract. Emergencies that have become an integral part of the lives of different municipalities and the threat of their negative consequences requires an adequate response from local governments. The article outlines the main causes of such situations and substantiates the need to address them by joining efforts both at the national level and at the level of local self-government. The concept of fiscal space is considered by the authors as the presence of a certain budget reserve to achieve the desired goals without violating financial stability. In the context of emergencies, this is a fiscal space to fund certain goals, which can sometimes be actualized in a very short time (as happened with the situation in health care in 2020). The possibility of targeting the fiscal space in the field of health care, social protection, overcoming the effects of natural disasters, combating poverty, achieving the goals of sustainable development, etc. is noted. The article presents the results of a study of the impact of emergencies (eg, the COVID-19 pandemic) on the ability of local authorities to respond to their consequences. The authors analyzed budget expenditures to combat COVID-19 and assessed changes in the financial capacity of municipalities and funding priorities, including funding for pandemic control at the national and subnational levels, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on municipal finances in terms of compliance with the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, the impact on funding priorities at the local level and municipality development strategies, the ability of local governments to respond to emergencies and highlighted some already tested effective practices. The article examines the methods of forming fiscal space, which were used to overcome the consequences of emergencies: reprioritization of expenditures, improving the efficiency of available resources, revenues to local budgets, which are additionally obtained due to understatement of initial revenue plans, reserve fund. Key words: fiscal space, emergencies, municipal finances, municipalities. JEL Classification r51 Formulas: 0; fig.: 1; tabl.: 1; bibl.: 15.

Social Media Participatory Development Communication during COVID-19 by Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in India

The advancement in technology has mandated many elected representatives to use social media for socio-political participation, participatory development and currently to create awareness about the Covid-19 pandemic. The aim of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in India is to develop local self-governments in districts, zones, and villages, with rural development being their main objective. Women's participation in the political arena was ensured, at the local self-government level by the historic 73rd and 74th amendments of the Indian constitution in the year 1992 by granting 33 percent reservation for women in the Indian rural governance processes. It heralded a new era in decentralized governance in India. The landmark amendment has allowed women to step out of their homes and participate in Gram Panchayats and other local institutional level meetings (Phukan, Kumar, and Majeed, 2018). Karnataka was a stellar example, being the first State in the country to implement the Panchayat Raj Act, which had mandated 25% reservation for women, in 1987, prior to the Amendments of 1992. As many as 14,000 women were elected in the first elections held in 1987 (Bageshree, 2009). Use of social networking sites has upgraded the methods and structures of political communication from traditional to digital (Darshan & Suresh, 2017). Local governments in India are increasingly using social media to keep citizens safe and informed while the nation works to flatten the curve of COVID-19. In this scenario, the social media usage by Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) for participatory development, during the COVID-19 pandemic is explored. Keywords: Women, Politics, Social Media, Panchayati Raj, COVID-19

Decentralizacja na Ukrainie: stan i perspektywy

This article is an overview of local government reform processes in Ukraine. We focus on two key issues - the current state of decentralization and the problems of its further implementation. It is necessary to ensure a decentralization process that includes legislation, organization and society at the same time. We paid special attention to the process of creation of amalgamated territorial communities and highlighted its advantages and future risks. We also analysed such issues as local budget revenue in the context of decentralization of financial resources, problems of creating the financial base of local communities. Finally, the regional features of the association of territorial communities and problems with shaping the basic level of local self-government in Ukraine were analysed.

Stakeholder participation in local governance as a key to local strategic development

In the past decade, the issue of stakeholder participation has been researched in the context of sustainable development. Indeed, new approaches to sustainable development point out the role of relationship-building with stakeholders and search for suitable tools how to involve stakeholders in the local strategic development. This paper deals with stakeholder participation at the local self-government level and its development. As such, it presents results obtained by a research conducted in the conditions of the Slovak Republic. The first primary research was carried out in 2009-2011 on a sample of 100 local self-governments, the second primary research was repeatedly carried out in 2011 - 2013 with a sample of 286 municipalities. This data was complemented by secondary data sources and primary data collection by the Delphi method among experts in the fields of public administration, public policy, economics and regional development. The analysis reveals potential opportunities for the development of local governance instruments with an emphasis on the involvement of stakeholders in local policy and strategic planning of territorial development in a typical post-socialist country of the Central and Eastern European region.

SPECIFIC OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT IN GEORGIA

Procurement at the local self-government level in Georgia is carried out in accordance with the rules established by the Law of Georgia on State Procurement. In this case, the difference between local and state procurement is not observed at the concept level, the specifics of the municipalities are not considered anywhere. The main objectives of the Law on Public Procurement are to rationalize the funds allocated for procurement, as well as to ensure a fair and non-discriminatory approach to procurement during procurement. However, violations of the principle of justice still occur at the municipal level. Due to the fact that procurement procedures take quite a long time and also, our research has revealed a number of shortcomings related to administration, hindering the effective functioning of municipalities.
 
 JEL: H11; H70
 
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Utjecaj dobrog upravljanja na povećanje zadovoljstva građana uslugama javnog sektora / Good Governance Impact on Increasement of Citizen Satisfaction with Public Sector Services

Contemporary activities of both private and public sector enacts new methods and principles in terms of adapting to everyday market changes. Public sector organizations, including local self-government institutions, are challenged with new demands that are not always easily achieved. At such a time, the application of contemporary managerial concepts, such as New Public Management and Good Governance, are crucial for the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector organizations. In transitional countries, and especially those that are candidates for accession to the European Union, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, the most demanding criterion is public administration reform. That reform includes improvement of organizational and functional efficiency and effectiveness, reorganizing public administration from the state level to local self-government level, and improvement of public services. In this regard, the paper focuses on research of the efficiency of the public sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the countries of the Western Balkans, with focus on citizen satisfaction with certain public sector services. Citizen satisfaction with public services and public institutions can be considered as a direct outcome of government’s policy and activities. Also, citizen satisfaction survey results can reveal a lot on the issues of how governments function, both in terms of citizen actual experiences and their expectations. The paper presents the results of Western Balkans countries compared with the results of European Union countries in terms of health services, education, ease of doing business and e-government. Western Balkans countries do not have a sufficiently developed system for monitoring the satisfaction of public service users and harmonizing reform measures, and also they have not developed well a system of functional cooperation with private and civil sectors in order to improve the quality of public services and citizen satisfaction.

Decentralization of power in european countries: the experience of polish and french reforms as a conceptual basis for the organizational structure of Ukraine's governing bodies

The reform of the state power, both at the level of local self-government and at the level of the state executive authorities, cannot be carried out without reviewing the basic legislative framework, Amendments to the current legislation and the development and adoption of completely new regulations, which will be the legislative basis for the quality implementation of the public administration reform. The work analyzes the current stage of reforming the administrative and territorial structure of our state, which provides for a significant expansion of the sphere of influence and competence in certain areas of local self-government bodies. The reform of local self-government must be carried out on the basis of the Constitution and laws of Ukraine, the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government and respect for the basic European principles of democracy. That is why the best example for the implementation of reforms in Ukraine can be the experience of European countries on the implementation of the reform of the new distribution of powers among the authorities. The most practical way for Ukraine will be to apply the experience of reforming the governing bodies of France and Poland. This article contains my developed comparative table of the duties of a newly established body, such as a prefect in Ukraine, as well as the corresponding duties of officials of this type in European countries (Poland and France). The work also investigated the impact of the newly established body on local self-government. The current draft of the Law of Ukraine "About Prefect" is analyzed and the appropriate conclusions are made.

The usage of social networks for citizen engagement at the local self-government level: the link between municipal councillors and citizens

Social networks perform a highly important role in public governance, especially in its communication processes, since they are an alternative to usual methods of communication and the dissemination of information, and it is becoming easier and quicker to publicise the political content, to receive feedback, and to form one’s opinion. Citizens can express their viewpoints on issues which are relevant to selfgovernment, whereas representatives of the municipality can inform citizens about activities and ongoing changes, seek the support of citizens, and pursue their political career goals. The purpose of this research is to reveal how social networks can be employed for citizen engagement at the local self-government level, by identifying the characteristics of the link between municipal councillors and citizens. The research employed both quantitative and qualitative research approaches, using methods such as the content analysis of 335 account entries (posts) on the social network Facebook by four municipal councillors and semi-structured interviews with said councillors. The empirical research demonstrates that municipal councillors use their Facebook accounts to disseminate information on important matters of local self-government, raising questions which are relevant to society, and receiving feedback from citizens (assessment of problems, suggested solutions); however, there is a lack of other kinds of engagement of citizens, i.e. institutional (applied by a municipality), via Facebook, even though there are possibilities available for not only the dissemination of information but also for discussions and the submission of suggestions via social networks.

ФІНАНСОВЕ ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ ТЕРИТОРІАЛЬНИХ ГРОМАД В УМОВАХ АДМІНІСТРАТИВНО-ТЕРИТОРІАЛЬНОЇ РЕФОРМИ: ПРОБЛЕМИ ТА ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ

The article is devoted to the consideration of the peculiarities of legislative and normative and institutional support of the process of formation of the basic level of local self-government and transition to the new model of subregional system. The issue of ensuring the financial autonomy of territorial entities is identified, namely: delegation by the state of additional budgetary powers to the level of local government budgets without adequate funding and additional sources of income at the local level. The volume of educational and medical subventions did not meet the need for funds for certain purposes due to the lack of relevant relevant standards of budgetary provision of public services in the field of delegated powers. It is substantiated that increasing the level of financial independence of local authorities is a crucial factor in the economic development of regions, which will create a financial basis for providing residents of local communities with high quality and affordable public services. The transfer to the level of local self-government of a significant amount of national powers without adequate financial resources requires the introduction of a new model of financial equalization of territorial communities aimed at strengthening their income base. The chosen model of decentralization in Ukraine did not avoid the formation of communities with low resource and financial capacity. It is proved that expanding and optimizing the sources of filling local budgets of territorial communities, increasing the powers of local governments in managing financial resources and increasing their independence is an extremely important task. Its solution will help increase the level of financial independence of local authorities and the quality of their tasks and functions. The author outlines the directions of optimization of the mechanism of financial equalization of the income base of local communities. Fiscal policy in terms of local finances should be aimed at forming financially viable local governments, as the availability of sufficient funds in community budgets will allow to quickly and efficiently address socio-economic issues at the local community level and promote its further development.

RISK MANAGEMENT OF THE SAFETY OF UNITED TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES

Ukraine is in the process of reforming local self-government and territorial organization of power, in which state policy is based on the interests of residents of territorial communities and priority issues of security and well-being of the region. 2020 has become a key year in the formation of the basic level of local self-government: most of the existing small local councils will unite, and the formed associations will have the authority to use the resource potential and responsibility for the living standards and security of their communities. The project approach to the processes of ensuring the security of the population of the united territorial communities will help to organize effective management in this direction. Risk management of security projects is an extremely important and socially responsible part of the work of every project manager of the functioning and development of united territorial communities. To reduce losses from the risks of dangerous events and emergencies, as well as untapped opportunities in security projects, there is a need to develop convenient tools.
 The article presents the developed method of anti-risk security management of the united territorial communities and describes the stages of management of opportunities and threats in their security projects. A model of anti-risk security management of united territorial communities has been formed. The mathematical model of risk management of stakeholders of wind energy projects has been improved and the mathematical model of risk management of safety of united territorial communities has been obtained. It is recommended to use the method of risk management of the security of the united territorial communities in the planning phase of these projects, as a convenient tool to ensure timely and adequate response not only to the risks but also to the opportunities of the project.

Ensuring social security at the level of local self-government

Ensuring social security at the level of local self-government

Противодействие коррупции в современной России: государственный и муниципальный уровень

The article analyzes the concept of “corruption” and approaches to counteract this phenomenon in modern Russia. The development trends of federal anti-corruption legislation and regional practice of legal regulation in this area are considered. The specifics of the organization of anti-corruption mechanisms at the local self-government level and the prospects of using individual preventive measures in the context of the overall effectiveness of anti-corruption in the municipality are emphasized.

Эффективность деятельности органов власти на локальном уровне в условиях пандемии COVID-19 (опыт России и Китая)

The qualitative changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic at all levels of the organization of the world community (individual, group, national, global) have actually formed a new social reality. Moreover, this process was of a force majeure nature;it took place in the conditions of a sharp increase in the uncertainty feeling, changes in the lifestyle of almost every person and every particular family, the unpreparedness of world medicine for an adequate response to the global epidemiological challenge, as well as the inevitability of large-scale problems in the economy and politics. The current conditions have become a challenge for the existing systems of public administration. The governments of different countries had to act quickly and decisively in order, on the one hand, to keep the development of the epidemiological situation under control, and on the other hand, to prevent a sharp deterioration of social stability against the background of objectively emerging epidemiological, social and psychological challenges. While the world medicine was urgently accelerating the development of a vaccine against coronavirus infection, the scientific and political community discussed the general strategy for implementing quarantine restrictions. However, against this background, the local community level remained virtually behind the scenes, which, nevertheless, was and still remains the most practical in terms of interaction of population with the authorities. It is at the local level (meaning the regional level, as well as the level of local self-government) that the authorities are more close to the society problems, have the opportunity to interact face-to-face with its representatives, and the population, in turn, can actually participate in activities to improve living conditions (including solving problems caused by the pandemic). The article presents the experience of Russia and China in organizing interaction and evaluating the activities of local authorities by the population. Both countries have shown high efficiency in overcoming the crisis in 2020-2021, so their experience is of considerable interest, primarily in practical terms. The authors of the study have concluded about the importance of public assessment regarding the effectiveness of the activities of local authorities, as well as the prospects for actively involving citizens in solving problems arising against the background of force majeure.

Improving administrative control over the legality of local government decisions

The article is devoted to the issues of territorial development, the role of local self-government bodies in ensuring the processes of planning and management of territories, the system of administrative control over territorial development. Territorial development has great state importance. The standard of living and income of the population are directly related to the resource, economic, technological potential of the territories and the system of territory management. Thus, the issue of managing territorial development by improving the efficiency of local governments is relevant. The article considers the main functions of local governments at the territorial level. The functional direction of territorial administration at the level of local self-government is regulated by the legal framework. The system of normative-legal regulation of territorial development processes, functioning of local self-government bodies are described in the article. The role of local governments, public authorities and the private sector in the implementation of territorial management policy and the implementation of a system of control over the adoption and effective implementation of management decisions on territorial development. The practical significance of the results obtained in the article is to determine the role of local governments in the system of territorial development. This is necessary to build a clear hierarchical system of territorial management at the level of local entities, regions, the state as a whole. The system will allow to distribute management functions, effectively monitor and control their implementation by introducing administrative control at different levels of implementation of management decisions.

Global Impacts of COVID-19 on the Financing of Local Self-Governments: Evidence from Slovak municipalities

Research background: Until 2004, the financing of local self-government in Slovak Republic was determined annually by the Act on the State Budget. In 2005, the whole philosophy of redistribution of funds for the level of local self-government was changed. The basis of the new system of local self-government financing was the determination of the personal income tax as an only one share tax. Purpose of the article: The income from this tax is distributed between the local self-government, the regional self-government and the state. The aim of the paper is to analyze the incomes from personal income tax redistributed to the level of local self-governments in Slovak Republic in the time period 2009 - 2019, as well as to provide a possible prediction of the development of these incomes. Methods: Basic data for the analysis were obtained from the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic from the state final account. We evaluate the obtained time series by means of MS Excel and we use modelling by means of trend lines. The obtained predictions will be compared with the forecasts presented by the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic. Findings & Value added: However, COVID - 19 also intervened in the predictions of the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic, and therefore we will also compare our models with real data obtained from the state budget in the framework of fulfilling from personal income tax for the time period January to August 2020. Also we will evaluate the expenditures of selected EU countries for local self-government.

Электоральная конкуренция на выборах представительных органов местного самоуправления в г. Челябинске: до и после реформы 2014 г.

Introduction. The article examines the dynamics of electoral competition over four electoral cycles from 2005 to 2019 as exemplified by forming representative bodies of local self-government in the city of Chelyabinsk. Particular attention is paid to the impact that the transition of Chelyabinsk to a twotier model of forming local self-government bodies in 2014 had on the electoral competition. The purpose of the paper is to study the dynamics of electoral competition in municipal elections in Chelyabinsk before and after the 2014 reform. Methods. The empirical basis of the study is the database “Electoral competition in the elections of municipal deputies of Chelyabinsk (2005—2019)”, which includes 414 observation units. The analysis of the empirical material is carried out according to the method of G.V. Golosov’s triangle of relative sizes, proposed for classifying party systems and adapted for analyzing elections in single-mandate constituencies. Scientific novelty. The author suggests a methodology for analyzing electoral competition in singlemandate constituencies. For the first time, the phenomenon of “controlled competition” is analyzed on the basis of 4 municipal elections cycles. Results. The analysis makes it possible to speak about fluctuations in electoral competition, its decline in 2009 and 2014 compared to the 2005 elections and increasing by the 2019 elections Conclusions. The “controlled competition” was formed in Chelyabinsk in the period preceding the reform of 2014. The reform introduced a level of local self-government, the effectiveness and necessity of which is not obvious with the existing design of the electoral system. In the course of the reform, the principal-agent model of relations between local self-government bodies and state authorities was finally consolidated. The reform contributed to conserving the “controlled competition”.

Geospatial approach for assessment of vulnerability to flood in local self governments

Recent years have shown a significant increase in the occurrence of floods globally, with an impact on habitation and different sectors of the economy. This, in turn, necessitates the use of different flood mitigation strategies, wherein flood vulnerability assessment plays a significant role. The proposed work presents a methodology that combines vulnerability under physical-environmental and socio-economic domains to assess the overall flood vulnerability at the local self-government level. The methodology was illustrated to the case of Aluva municipality, located on the banks of River Periyar, in Kerala state, India. The spatial variation of hazard inducing factors and population statistics were analysed using Geographic Information System (GIS) tools. The machine learning algorithm, Random Forest, which uses hazard inducing factors as input was implemented for the evaluation of physical-environmental vulnerability. The social vulnerability of the region was analysed using the GIS Multi-criteria decision analysis approach (MCDA), with criteria weights to incorporate the interests of different stakeholders. The critical combinations of the two domains of vulnerability in the assessment of the vulnerability to flood, to have efficient flood management in local self-government was demonstrated in this study and can be made use of for any flood event.

The ‘Kindred Circle’ of Village Mayors in the Habsburg Monarchy and the Example of Cieszyn Silesia, 1864–1918

In Cieszyn Silesia (the eastern part of the crownland of Austrian Silesia) from the time local government was introduced in 1864 until 1918 it is possible to identify 1332 village mayors (German: Gemeindevorsteher; Polish: wójt; Czech: starosta). Of these, at least 1006 (almost 76 per cent) had another village mayor in Cieszyn Silesia in their ‘kindred circle’, which includes second-degree relatives according to canonical computation, as well as witnesses at weddings and baptisms of their closest family (children, parents, siblings). The uninterrupted lineage of these types of relationships connected at least 875 village mayors, or 66 per cent of all those known. Thus the partial democratisation at the level of local self-government led to a kind of oligarchy, with the position of the village head being assumed by wealthy peasant families who all had connections to one another. Outside of the ‘kindred circle’, there were the factory owners and officials of archdukes and counts, who took the position of village mayor in industrialised areas, as well as a few Jewish village mayors and probably the majority of village mayors from the mountain villages. The question examined here is whether the situation looked similar in other parts of the Habsburg monarchy, or whether Cieszyn Silesia stood out in this respect. This question remains unanswered due to the lack of analogous studies on village mayors.

Formation of local self-government bodies of Ukraine in soviet times

oday, as a result of the reform of decentralization and administrative-territorial organization, actually a new administrative-territorialunit is being established in Ukraine – a united community. But the basis and at the same time the reason for the joint of communitieswere first of all the most numerous local and at the same time the smallest administrative-territorial units in Ukraine – villagecouncils, inherited by Ukraine since Soviet times.Historically, the state and municipal system of modern Ukraine did not arise by itself, but was built on the “foundation” of theSoviet era, because Ukraine as an independent state is the successor of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), which, in turn –the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic (USSR), founded 100 years ago – in 1919. The smallest local authority in Soviet times and afterthe declaration of independence in Ukraine was the village council, which for a hundred years of its existence evolved from a componentof the mechanism of state governance at places to the basic level of local self-government.The article presents the result of historical and legal study of the establishment and development of the structural organization oflocal administrative bodies in Ukraine during the Soviet era on the example of village councils, their legal status, structure, main powersand tasks done by these bodies and the status of their members and officials. Village councils became the basic bodies of local managementof Soviet Ukraine and its smallest administrative-territorial units. On the basis of the organization of the activities of Sovietvillage councils with certain evolutionary changes, local self-governing bodies – village councils of independent Ukraine – still functiontoday. Investigation of formation and development of these bodies in the Soviet period of the history of the state and law of Ukrainedeserves the attention of legal science, including in the current reform of decentralization and administrative-territorial organization.