Municipal Management Research Articles

Discussion on the Problems of Municipal Road Construction Management and Its Countermeasures

Discussion on the Problems of Municipal Road Construction Management and Its Countermeasures

Waste-to-Energy Processes as a Municipality-Level Waste Management Strategy: A Case Study of Kočevje, Slovenia

The escalating challenge of waste management demands innovative strategies to mitigate environmental impacts and harness valuable resources. This study investigates waste-to-energy (WtE) technologies for municipal waste management in Kočevje, Slovenia. An analysis of available waste streams reveals substantial energy potential from mixed municipal waste, biodegradable waste, and livestock manure. Various WtE technologies, including incineration, pyrolysis, gasification, and anaerobic digestion, are compared. The results show that processing mixed municipal waste using thermochemical processes could annually yield up to 0.98 GWh of electricity, and, separately, 3.22 GWh of useable waste heat for district heating or industrial applications. Furthermore, by treating 90% of the biodegradable waste, up to 1.31 GWh of electricity and 1.76 GWh of usable waste heat could be generated annually from biodegradable municipal waste and livestock manure using anaerobic digestion and biogas combustion in a combined heat and power facility. Gasification coupled with a gas-turbine-based combined heat and power cycle is suggested as optimal. Integration of WtE technologies could yield 2.29 GWh of electricity and 3.55 GWh of useable waste heat annually, representing an annual exergy yield of 2.98 GWh. Within the Kočevje municipality, this amount of energy could cover 23.6% of the annual household electricity needs and cover the annual space and water heating requirements of 10.0% of households with district heating. Additionally, CO2-eq. emissions could be reduced by up to 20%, while further offsetting emissions associated with electricity and district heat generation by 1907 tons annually. These findings highlight the potential of WtE technologies to enhance municipal self-sustainability and reduce landfill waste.

Artificial Intelligence in enhancing sustainable practices for infectious municipal waste classification

This research paper focuses on effective infectious municipal waste management in urban settings, highlighting a dearth of dedicated research in this domain. Unlike general or specific waste types, infectious waste poses distinct health and environmental risks. Leveraging advanced artificial intelligence techniques, we prioritize infectious waste categorization and optimization, integrating metaheuristics into optimization methods to create a robust dual-ensemble framework. Our model, the “Enhanced Artificial Intelligence for Infectious Municipal Waste Classification System,” combines ensemble image segmentation methods and diverse convolutional neural network models. Innovative geometric image augmentation enhances model robustness, diversifies training data, and improves accuracy across waste types. A pivotal aspect is the integration of a reinforcement learning-differential evolution algorithm as a decision fusion strategy, optimizing classification by harmonizing outputs from ensemble methods and convolutional neural network models. Computational results, using a newly collected dataset, demonstrate our model’s accuracy exceeding 96.54% while using the existing solid waste dataset we achieve the accuracy of 97.81%, outperforming advanced approaches by margins ranging from 2.02% to 8.80%. This research significantly advances sustainable waste management, showcasing artificial intelligence’s transformative potential in addressing intricate waste challenges. It establishes a foundational framework prioritizing efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability for future waste management solutions. Acknowledging the importance of diverse datasets, customization for urban contexts, and practical integration into existing infrastructures, our work contributes to the broader discourse on the role of artificial intelligence in evolving waste management practices.

The Role of Expectation Management in Value Creation: A Case Study on Municipal Managers’ Experiences with Offering Supported Housing

Theoretically rooted in public service logic (PSL), this article explores managers’ experiences constructing value propositions and facilitating the value creation process in a public sector environment. It reports on a qualitative study from a Norwegian municipal setting based on individual and focus group interviews supported by participant observations and relevant documents. The data were analyzed according to the guidelines of stepwise-deductive inductive analysis (SDI). The findings substantiate changes in the utilized supported housing forms and highlight urgency’s pervasive effect on transition processes to supported housing for individuals with intellectual disabilities and the need for around-the-clock support. This study contributes to public management research by examining the process of constructing value propositions and the managers’ efforts to contribute to the formation of more realistic expectations towards the municipality’s scope and level of service among prospective service users and their families. The article contributes to the PSL discourse by providing the complementary concept of expectation–reality mitigation as a particular form of expectation management suited for the complexities and constraints of value creation in public service settings.

Hydrogen as Potential Primary Energy Fuel for Municipal Solid Waste Incineration for a Sustainable Waste Management

The control of municipal stable waste (MSW) has lengthy offered difficulties for the community. Affecting the sustainability of the environment. The expected reasons are rising earnings and population. The maximum superior and practicable technique for coping with municipal strong waste is incineration generation. The foundation of incinerator generation is the combustion of trash with the use of fossil fuels. Not handiest are these fuels strolling out day by day, however burning them poses a chance to the environment. The modern study appears into the viability of using hydrogen as the main gas for combustion within the incineration of municipal strong waste (MSW). It is now viable to run an incinerator of the vertical shaft type on natural hydrogen. Through specially made burners, a gasoline aggregate of hydrogen and oxygen in a stoichiometric ratio has been fed. The burners are made in this kind of manner as to offer uniform heat dispersion. In order to envision how the incinerator operates at the very best accredited moisture degree, more than a few Tests were carried out on both homogeneous and heterogeneous MSWs with excessive moisture possibilities ranging from 60 to 90%. It has been mentioned that the incineration reached a most temperature of 850C. There has been a important drop in weight percentage, 86–94%, and loss on ignition (1.74%–6.41%). For homogeneous paper and meals waste (1 kg), the hydrogenbased totally incinerator executed fine, accomplishing 60% and 87% of moisture content, in that order. The weight reduction become 97.14% and 88.88%, respectively, with energy expenditure of 108 Wh and 321 Wh. The efficiency of the hydrogen-based incinerator gadget decreases as the moisture content of the rubbish will increase. Keywords: Municipal waste management (MSW), hydrogen, incineration, fuel.

Gender Equality in Municipal Management Positions in Amazonas, Peru

Gender Equality in Municipal Management Positions in Amazonas, Peru

Sustainable approach of biological treatment of landfill leachate by Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation: A review

An upsurge in living standards, rising industrialization and urbanization, the protection of water environment has become a priority. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation process has drawn a lot of attention since it demonstrated substantial advantages over conventional nitrogen removal techniques, including a 100% reduction in the amount of organic carbon required, a 60% reduction in the amount of aeration needed, and a 90% reduction in the amount of sludge produced. Effective treatment of landfill leachate is extremely important as leachate is a threat to the environment. Municipal waste management is still a challenging situation in developing countries. Uncontrolled waste disposal results in greenhouse gases emissions which worsens climate change as the leachate will pollute water bodies, soil and a significant air pollution which impacts on human health will be released. This paper reviewed several published research works in Scopus dealing with the leachate treatment by Anammox process combined with some other systems and highlighted some common challenges found with the application of this new technology. Treating landfill leachate resulted in an excellent ammonium NH4 +-N removal efficiency. However, it has been highlighted that most of the research reviewed reported some limitations of the technology on a small scale such as the low start-up time affecting the growth of bacteria in the reactors and the instability of the system when pH and temperature decrease. Biological treatment, Anammox method included, offers a cost-effective, eco-friendly, and an effective solution for nitrogen removal.

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in Municipal Planning and Management: A Pathway to Improve South African Service Delivery

In the years after 1994, the democratic government of South Africa worked to transfer and extend basic service provision to practically all sections of the country. The delivery of public services continues to be an embarrassment to humanity and the developmental state. Without proper basic services such as water, sanitation, power, infrastructure, health facilities, and housing, a large section of South Africa’s people would continue to live and die. As a result, society remains disenfranchized and exposed to socioeconomic shocks, contributing to the economy's decline and destruction. To support successful service delivery, the integration of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) as a shift from human-led operations to computerized operations is now recognized and required in municipal planning and management. The central purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of applying GIS as a crucial planning tool infused within integrated development planning in municipal planning and management. The current state of service delivery in existing municipal planning and management procedures, as well as the factors that influence it and the effect it has on society, will be examined. This conceptual study employs secondary data and follows a certain methodology. Using the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) methodology, secondary data were examined. The results demonstrate that political influence and manipulation, a lack of openness and accountability, insufficient citizen participation, a lack of personnel capability, and poor planning, monitoring, and evaluation contribute to poor public service delivery in South Africa. Furthermore, the findings indicate that GIS functions as a tool for visualization and collation of spatial information, map production, and data capturing and storage in local municipalities with the aim of enhancing public service delivery.

Inclusion of Pseudomonas fluorescens into soil-like fraction from municipal solid waste management park to enhance plastic biodegradation.

Single-use facial masks which are predominantly made out of polypropylene is being used and littered in large quantities during post COVID-19 situation. Extensive researches on bioremediation of plastic pollution on soil led to the identification of numerous plastic degrading microorganisms. These organisms assimilate plastic polymers as their carbon source for synthesizing energy. Pseudomonas fluorescens (PF) is one among such microorganism which is being identified to biodegrade plastic polymers in controlled environment. The natural biodegradation of facial mask in soil-like fraction collected from municipal waste management site, bioaugmentation of the degradation process with Pseudomonas fluorescens, biostimulation of the soil with carbonless nutritional supplements and combined bioaugmentation with biostimulation process were studied in the present work. The study has been conducted both in controlled and in natural condition for a period of 12months. The efficiency of the degradation was verified through FTIR analyses using carbonyl index, bond energy change, Loss in ignition (LOI) measurement along with CHNS analyses of residual substances. The analysis of results reported that carbonyl index (in terms of transmittance) was reduced to 46% of the control batch through the inclusion of PF in natural condition. The bioaugmented batch maintained in natural condition showed 33% reduction of LOI with respect to the control batch. The unburnt carbon content of the residual matter obtained from the furnace were analysed using CHNS analyser and indicated the lowest carbon content in the same bioaugmented batch. In this study, an attempt is made to verify the feasibility of enhancing biodegradation of single-use facial mask by bioaugmentation of soil-like fraction available in solid waste management park with Pseudomonas fluorescens under natural condition. CHNS and FTIR analysis assures the biodegradation of plastic waste in the soil-like fraction using Pseudomonas fluorescens under both controlled and natural environmental condition.

Разработка мер защиты конфиденциальной управленческой информации в организации

The article reveals the main provisions and the importance of protecting confidential data in state and municipal management, organizational and technical measures. Attention is paid to the relationship between the amount of management information in organizations and the growth of threat factors for its disclosure. As a warning against external and internal threats, an approach to creating a mechanism for ensuring the security of classified data will be considered, and a list of documents regulating the field of technical information protection will be provided. The directions of implementation of the system of protection of confidential information in the management system of the organization are proposed.

Branding of Russian Cities: Practice Review of Russian Federation Regional “Capitals”

The use of marketing tools in state and municipal management, one of which is geo-branding, is becoming an increasingly common practice. Many cities in our country strive to create their own unique geo-brands based on their competitive advantages in order to promote their own values and interests in the highly competitive “territory market”, as well as attract the necessary resources, including tourists, investors, residents, etc., depending on the tasks set. The city’s geo-branding strategy is aimed not only at external, but also at internal audiences (the population, local businesses, authorities, etc.), which helps to increase the loyalty of citizens to their place of residence. Moreover, in the process of interacting with the outside world, local residents themselves become bearers of their city’s brand. The article is devoted to the study of the current state of geo-breading in Russia on the example of the administrative centers of the subjects of the Russian Federation. The study was conducted through content analysis of the Internet communication network in November–December 2023. As a result, a classification was compiled in which cities were divided into three groups: cities with documented branding concepts and other signs of systemic marketing activity; cities with signs of systemic geo-branding, but being only part of a regional brand or tourist route (without an independent brand); cities without signs of systemic geo-branding. Based on the analysis, general trends in the field of Russian city geo-branding were also identified and recommendations were made for each of the groups of cities of the received classification.

Improving waste management strategies in the food sector: case studies from Spain, Tunisia and Hong Kong

Appropriate waste generation and management is becoming increasingly important in making food systems more sustainable. It is, therefore, imperative to both reduce waste generation and sustainably manage the waste that cannot be reduced. However, this is challenging due to the heterogeneity of waste materials, the high economic costs of optimizing food systems and the low awareness of the issue in some societies. This article analyzes three case studies that explore improvements in waste management in the food sector in Europe, Africa and Asia. The case studies focus on a horticultural cooperative in Spain, a seafood company in Tunisia and municipal waste management in Hong Kong, highlighting different challenges and approaches. Key factors for horticultural waste management include a consistent regulatory framework, appropriate management systems and waste traceability. The article also highlights the potential for valorisation of waste products, such as blue crab by-products, which can be used to obtain polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, antioxidants, flavonoids, vitamins and minerals. A shift from landfill to anaerobic digestion is also recommended for a more sustainable waste management. By identifying and quantifying waste streams and problematic waste types, alternative solutions can be developed to improve the sustainability of the global food supply chain.

Challenges towards Sustainable Energy as a Substitute for Fossil Fuels for the Case of Municipal Waste Management

Challenges towards Sustainable Energy as a Substitute for Fossil Fuels for the Case of Municipal Waste Management

Waste Management System: A Case Study of Waste Bank Management Toward a Circular Economy in Maros Regency

Waste management has been in the spotlight recently due to the annual escalating volume of waste generated. The concept of a circular economy has emerged as a viable economic framework that aligns with sustainable development objectives, particularly those concerning responsible consumption and production practices to support local economies. This article seeks to assess the efficacy of waste bank management in fostering the development of an efficient municipal waste management system conducive to a circular economy with a robust waste recycling infrastructure. This study employed a descriptive qualitative interpretative approach underpinned by a phenomenological framework. Data were gathered from diverse reputable sources such as journals, books, and other relevant references, which the author subsequently analyzed. The findings indicate that waste management in Maros Regency has been operating optimally, driven by stakeholder involvement in promoting waste disposal practices within the community. Establishing the Turikale Main waste bank is a testament to the success of transitioning waste management towards a circular economy model. This initiative facilitates waste recycling and empowers the local economy, generating substantial monthly revenue independently. The significance of this research lies in its capacity to offer valuable insights and recommendations for researchers seeking to evaluate and formulate waste management strategies anchored in the concept of waste banks, which can be replicated in other regions.

Framework to support decision-making in the granting of Refis tax benefit by brazilian municipalities

This research aimed to propose a framework to support decision-making in granting Refis tax benefit by Brazilian municipalities. With a qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory research methodology, analytical and prescriptive emphasis, and use of Design Science Research as a method, it has a vision of intersubjective, interactionist, co-constructed reality, epistemology, and constructivist paradigm. Data collection and analysis were based on documents, official data, theoretical references, observation, interviews, and questionnaires, with content analysis and triangulation. Experts validated the instrument, and applications were made via simulation in Brazilian municipalities. Consequently, the framework composed of 7 dimensions and 19 categories was generated, one of them being unprecedented in theoretical studies and categorization. Through the research and its theoretical and practical advances, it is possible to conclude the potential of the framework as an instrument to support municipal public managers in the decision-making of the granting of Refis tax benefit, whose collaborations have an impact on the Academia, society, and Public Administration, weaving their reflections and elaborating their final product with various worldviews aiming at the satisfaction of the collective good.

Does pay-for-performance design matter? Evidence from Brazil.

Pay-for-performance (P4P) schemes have been shown to have mixed effects on health care outcomes. A challenge in interpreting this evidence is that P4P is often considered a homogenous intervention, when in practice schemes vary widely in their design. Our study contributes to this literature by providing a detailed depiction of incentive design across municipalities within a national P4P scheme in Brazil [Primary Care Access and Quality (PMAQ)] and exploring the association of alternative design typologies with the performance of primary health care providers. We carried out a nation-wide survey of municipal health managers to characterize the scheme design, based on the size of the bonus, the providers incentivized and the frequency of payment. Using OLS regressions and controlling for municipality characteristics, we examined whether each design feature was associated with better family health team (FHT) performance. To capture potential interactions between design features, we used cluster analysis to group municipalities into five design typologies and then examined associations with quality of care. A majority of the municipalities included in our study used some of the PMAQ funds to provide bonuses to FHT workers, while the remaining municipalities spent the funds in the traditional way using input-based budgets. Frequent bonus payments (monthly) and higher size bonus allocations (share of 20-80%) were strongly associated with better team performance, while who within a team was eligible to receive bonuses did not in isolation appear to influence performance. The cluster analysis showed what combinations of design features were associated with better performance. The PMAQ score in the 'large bonus/many workers/high-frequency' cluster was 8.44 points higher than the 'no bonus' cluster, equivalent to a difference of 21.7% in the mean PMAQ score. Evidence from our study shows how design features can potentially influence health provider performance, informing the design of more effective P4P schemes.

Innovation and Sustainable Public Budget Under the Aegis of The Triple Bottom Line (Tbl) And the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Objective: to identify how the public budgets of the municipalities of the Metropolitan Region of Salvador-RMS are committed to the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting the innovative proposal to analyze them. Theoretical Framework: Innovation has become the "order of the day" in the public sector. In addition to its role as a promoter through the private sector, creating an innovation ecosystem and delivering it to companies, the public sector has been seeking to make important innovations in the modus faciendi in its internal management from its budget. The articulation of government planning and the new paradigm of TBL and SDGs in public management needs to become a reality, a practice that is considered as an organizational innovation based on the planning and analysis of public budgets. Method: Use a deductive and qualitative approach of exploratory nature, with statistical treatment, idealization and calculation of the "Indicator of the Dimension of Expenditures in the Budget" (IDGO) for the economic, environmental and social dimensions of the 13 municipalities of the Metropolitan Region of Salvador – RMS-BA. Results and Conclusion: The results indicated that there is a preponderance of the social IDGO to the detriment of the economic and environmental IDGOs in the budgets studied. and that, particularly the environmental dimension, needs more attention in budget allocation. Research Implications: From this analysis proposal for a sustainable public budget, municipal public managers can innovate in their management from reallocations and more careful planning of budgets, allocating financial resources in a more balanced way.

Transformation of Digital Technologies in Local Government

There is little theoretical justification for integrated management in municipalities. This especially concerns the need to formulate the concept and use of digital technologies for municipalities at various levels. This implies the need to take into account the core values characteristic of public organizations, in particular public associations and individuals involved in this process. The problem of digitalization has been considered in many areas, but at the municipal level there are only the results of fragmentary descriptions, and, most often, only at the level of converting previously created content into digital format. The authors show various approaches to the use of digital technologies in management: e-government, digital city, smart city, digital projects in municipalities, digitalization of administration, information and communication technologies in state and municipal government. This study examines a rarely considered aspect, namely the transformation of digital technologies in the management process at the city level, as well as its impact on urban infrastructure assets. Besides, the study attempts to methodize the objects of the municipal structure in a digital format and to attract the attention of the practical world to the value that a complex development system integrated into digital space can bring to the system.

Self-taxation as a form of participation of citizens in expenditures of the territorial community: the experience of the Republic of Poland

The article is devoted to the analysis of the Polish experience of legal regulation of self-taxation as a form of citizen’s participation in local community expenditures. It is shown that the Institute of self- taxation in the Republic of Poland has a long history. Borrowed in the 1950s in the USSR, it continues to be successfully used today as a tool to further mobilize financial resources to address local issues. The peculiarities and mechanism of establishing self-taxation are disclosed. It is shown that today the mechanism of establishing self-taxation is significantly complicated and the only acceptable form of its introduction is a local referendum. The author emphasizes the existence in Polish law and the financial and legal doctrine of a clear position on the distinction between self-taxation and taxes. Self-taxation is intrinsic to the target character, its own form of legalization, its own entity and its voluntary nature.
 It is substantiated that self-taxation is an independent form of non-taxable compulsory payment and is used to resolve issues of local importance, its size and order of introduction and use are determined independently by the population in a local referendum. At the same time, local referendums for Poland remain a rare occurrence. This is due to both the cost and the complexity of the procedure. In addition, the widespread use of self-tax referendums was blocked by court decisions and the opinion of financial law experts, who stated that the self-tax institute in its current form had no legal basis.
 The analysis shows that the Polish communities most often use self-taxation of the population for the purposes related to the construction of infrastructure networks (water and sewerage networks) or municipal waste management (sorting, disposal and storage). Introducing self-taxation is essential for the development of territorial communities. Self-taxation allows territorial communities to receive additional funds, increase civic activity of residents, and increase the level of responsibility of local self-government bodies.

Closed‐loop economics in waste management: financing procedures and results

To analyze the procedure and main results of financial support for the implementation of a closed‐cycle economy in the subjects of the Russian Federation.Statistical data and strategic planning documents. The method of analysing the legal and regulatory framework and statistical reporting, as well as the structure of the federal budget, were used. The study is also based on the application of methods of comparison and contrast, grouping, historical and factor analysis.The key role of the state in the creation and effective functioning of the integrated system of solid municipal waste management (MSWM) is determined by the ability to concentrate the necessary financial resources and guarantee uniform standards and requirements for system participants to achieve the stated goals of the closed cycle economy (CCE). Uniform standards and requirements for system participants must be guaranteed to achieve the stated objectives of the closed cycle economy (CCE). This is confirmed by the results of the financing of the TCO management system for 2019–2023, when the federal budget financed activities to the amount of 42.3 billion rubles. For the purposes of the federal EZC project, 8.6 billion rubles were allocated. It is important to ensure off‐budget financing of these activities and modernization of domestic enterprises, for which the use of secondary raw materials is available and economically feasible. The priority of measures to implement CCE in the Russian Federation is financial support for the creation and development of infrastructure for waste collection and recycling.The processes on improvement of the regulatory and legal framework and personnel training are related to the need to implement a "top‐down" approach, which determines the centralisation of decision‐making and the efficiency of attracting extrabudgetary funds dominating in the financial support of the functioning of the TCO management system and implementation of CCE.