Local Self-government Units Research Articles

Зарубіжний досвід проведення децентралізаційних змін: уроки для України

Розглянуто зарубіжний досвід проведення реформи адміністративно-територіального устрою та децентралізації державного управління, перерозподілу повноважень, зміни у бюджетних відносинах країн Балтії та Хорватії. Зазначено, що питання децентралізації є першочерговими в умовах розвитку місцевого самоврядування та забезпечення його спроможності самостійно, завдяки власним ресурсам, вирішувати проблеми місцевого значення.

Integracija poslova ureda državne uprave u županijsku upravu: dosadašnji rezultati

In January 2020, the county state administration offices, as former first-instance state administration bodies, ceased to operate. By legislative amendments of October 2019, most of their tasks were transferred to the counties’ delegated scope of affairs. The paper presents the peculiarities of the legal regime of delegated scope of affairs and it introduces the organizational forms that the counties are using in order to perform the delegated tasks. The first results of the abolition of county administrative offices are evaluated on the basis of semi-structured interviews conducted with the heads of county administration bodies responsible for general administration affairs. The results obtained so far are classified into three categories. The first category consists of the positive results of this organizational change: better material rights of employees, better working conditions and unchanged or slightly improved position of citizens. The second category consists of the negative results: weaker control exercised by the central government and the loss of control over general acts of units of local self-government. The third category consists of open questions: whether there will be a new increase in the number of employees, or whether their current reduction will affect the quality of work; what is the position of the county governor and whether politicization will increase; what is the future role of counties and whether there can be inequality in the performance of delegated state tasks between counties. The paper represents the basis for further evaluation studies on the abolition of county state administration offices and opens the doors for further research.

Dejtonske kontroverze – Javno odlučivanje između parlamentarne demokratije i partitokratije

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the pluralization of society and the state began during 1990. This is the time when political parties are formed and the first multi-party parliamentary elections are held. Due to the strong influence and domination of the ethnic principle, political parties were formed in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1990 in two basic forms: as ethnic or people's (national) parties, and as civic (multiethnic) parties. In almost all election cycles from the beginning of the pluralization of Bosnian society until today, ethnic political parties have won the elections. Ethnic political parties have appropriated a monopoly in the promotion of national interests since the 1990 election campaign, guided by the idea of protecting the national interests of “their“ peoples. The continued rule of ethnic parties without a coalition political agenda and agreement has strengthened ethnic pluralism in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thus, instead of democratic decision-making and competition between the majority and the opposition, the representative bodies in Bosnia and Herzegovina have become an arena and a place of mutual competition and confrontation between the parties that make up the parliamentary majority. The lack of the necessary democratic consensus between the ruling ethnic political parties at the state level was compensated and compensated by the High Representative of the International Community (OHR), who, on the basis of the Bonn powers, promulgated certain laws. Hundreds of laws in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been promulgated by high representatives. This prevented blockages in the work of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the absence of the necessary consensus of the ruling ethnic parties, it is not possible to develop or strengthen the power of parliaments as the highest representative body of the people and citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Instead of parliamentary democracy, classical partitocracy is at work. The situation is similar at the entity level, and at the cantonal level in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity. All this, along with heterogeneous and complicated decision-making procedures and processes, ultimately reflects on the adoption of laws and decisions of importance to society and the state. Complicated forms of decision-making and the existence of a famous mechanism for the protection of vital national interests are some of the obstacles to the development of the state and society. All of these are some of the essential problems, but also the controversies that follow the decision-making processes in the representative bodies in the country. This is especially true of the adoption of important and significant public policies aimed at solving socio-political problems. Only decision-making at the level of local self-government units (municipalities and cities) can serve as a positive example. In general, the local level of government has so far proved to be the most efficient level of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The basis for strengthening the democratic decision-making capacities of the representative bodies of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina is contained in the application of the democratic principle on which parliamentary democracy is established and functions. Applying almost all basic and general scientific research methods, as well as the method of analysis (content) of relevant documentation as a method of data acquisition, will identify key problems and controversies of public decision-making and policy making in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the period after the Dayton Peace Agreement. today. A conclusion will be drawn on the need to establish a parliamentary majority based on the coalition agreement and the political program of that coalition, which significantly affects the public decision-making processes and the adoption of the necessary state public policy. Bosnia and Herzegovina is required to reconstruct public decisions in the direction of strengthening state public decisions and policies and building European standards, in order to more efficiently compose them with the requirements and directives of the European Union.

Capacity Development of Local Self-Governments for Disaster Risk Management.

The objective of this research was to examine the capacity development of local self-governments in the field of disaster risk management (DRM). This quantitative research examines the degree of implementation of strategic, legislative, and institutional frameworks, as well as the capacity of local authorities to apply related policies through five analytical scopes: (1) degree of preparedness and legal framework; (2) financial framework; (3) policy aspects; (4) cooperation and partnership; (5) communication. The ability of municipalities and towns to respond to disasters was also analyzed and compared. In this paper, our initial hypothesis was that the effective implementation of the concept of DRM policy in towns of Serbia requires the continual strategic, tactical, and operational transformation of the public administration and public management system in order to strengthen the capacity of local self-governments for disaster prevention, preparation, response, and recovery. This multimethod research was conducted over the period of 2014–2017 and included the following two target groups: (a) heads of disaster sectors in local self-government units (mayor) and (b) employees of the DRM sector in local self-government units. The results of this research will enable decision makers to successfully respond to challenges and help to improve the capacity of local self-governments and public local administrations within the scope of DRM in the Republic of Serbia, based on the principles of prevention and proactive action, coordination, cooperation, partnership, and responsibility.

ULOGA ŠTABA ZA VANREDNE SITUACIJE GRADA KRALJEVA U BORBI PROTIV EPIDEMIJE VIRUSA COVID-19

The article deals with a detailed analysis of measures taken in the territory of the city of Kraljevo during the state of emergency in the Republic of Serbia (March 15- May 6, 2020) caused by the epidemic of COVID-19 virus, as well as the achieved results. The greatest success was achieved in the field of prevention, where the City Emergency Headquarters played the crucial role by focusing on the Plan for Prevention and Treatment in Case of Epidemics-Pandemics, adopted at the City Council session held on March 26, 2020. This is the first document concerning prevention and treatment from infection with the COVID-19 virus, which was adopted by a local self-government unit in Serbia. In addition to the basic ones, the activities of the City Headquarters are also researched in two special dimensions: 1) vertical, which concerns the coordination of activities with the competent republic institutions; 2) horizontal, which refers to professional and material assistance to other local self-government units through the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities. The author concludes that several interrelated factors were of crucial importance in the prevention and reduction of the possibility of contracting the COVID-19 virus in the territory of the city of Kraljevo: 1) the document Plan for Prevention and Treatment in Case of Epidemics-Pandemics; as a type of legal basis for the functioning of the City Headquarters for Emergency Situations 2) the work method of the City Headquarters for Emergency Situations, which timely and strategically directed the activities of all entities involved in the prevention of the spread of the virus; 3) coordination of activities of the City Headquarters for Emergency Situations with republic institutions and harmonization of actions with measures of the Government of the Republic of Serbia; 4) consistent and continuous work of the The Emergency Situations City Headquarters on the maximum engagement of the capacities of all city services and republic bodies on the territory of the city of Kraljevo in the function of preventing the spread of COVID-19 virus infection.

Expenditure on education and physical culture in the commune of Skulsk and Wilczyn in 2015-2018. Comparative analysis

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997, a commune is the basic unit of local self-government. The commune realizes its own tasks and commissioned tasks, and its aim is cater to local residents needs. In both analyzed communes, the main source of expenditure were own tasks. In the balance sheet, the education department had the biggest share in the expenditure of both communes. In particular, these are expenses for kindergartens, primary schools, lower secondary schools and teachers' salaries. Expenditure on physical culture does not significantly affect the balance sheet of communes.

Fiscal Decentralization and Alternative Financial Sources for the Local Self-Government in Republic of North Macedonia - Overview

Abstract Local governance in developing countries demonstrates many problems related to financial sources and good governance of their finances. Local Self-Government (LSG) units in the Republic of North Macedonia are very small which results in a lack of capabilities to raise enough funds to offer delegated services. The local government in the Republic of North Macedonia centralizes almost all public finance. Local budgets depend heavily on state transfers and donations from the central budget. The lack of funds remained a crucial problem even though there were some attempts for the decentralization process. Practically, governments in many of the local governments in North Macedonia could not secure their resources. In this way, they could come with specific charges, but all taxes are decided by the central government. The practice showed that local governments before borrowing needs to be approved by the Ministry of Finance. The Republic of North Macedonia as a potential candidate to join the European Union should make several changes regarding the legislation during the process of accession to benefit from being a small candidate country. The main aim of this paper is to investigate alternative financial sources such are Municipal Bonds, Partnership Sukuk securities, and PPP. Unfortunately, many financial alternatives have not been able to be implemented due to failures in reforms and good financial governance. But they remain an open opportunity for developing a local government in the future.

Key Tasks and Competences of Spatial Data Manager in Local Self-Government

The article addresses the spatial data manager domain in local self-government units. The scope of the article comprehends typical tasks and required competences for conducting the usual spatial data manager job tasks in local self-government. Furthermore, in the research described in the article, the tasks are systematized and mapped with required competences. Based on the research on tasks and required competences, two types of profiles of spatial data managers in local self-government with its specializations are proposed and described, which are recommended to be considered when developing both, occupation standard and qualification standard of spatial data managers.

Predictions of State and County Top Civil Servants Regarding the Abolition of County State Administration Offices: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

In January 2020, county state administration offices, as first-line state administration offices in Croatia, were abolished and their competences transferred to county second-level units of local self-government. This organizational change represents administrative decentralization. The purpose of this article is to examine whether there are any differences in the predictions regarding the effects of this organizational change between two groups of civil servants: state civil servants (heads of county state administration offices and heads of their internal organizational units) and county civil servants (heads of county organizational units), and which are the factors that shape their predictions. A questionnaire was sent to the respondents in June 2019. The statistical analysis of the data (response rate 52%) shows a statistically significant difference between the predictions of the two groups in relation to all four categories of effects of this organizational change (inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes). There is only one point where there is no difference: both groups agree that the county governor’s role will grow. The difference in predictions is explained by two factors of cognitive biases: the organization’s interest to survive and expand its power, and uncertainty (strategic, structural, and job-related). The paper offers an academic contribution to the field of administrative decentralization by giving insights into the predictions of different actors on the effects of such change before its implementation and by introducing factors of cognitive biases as explanations for discrepancies in the predictions.

The Effect of Public Finance Control on the Improvement of Work of Internal Auditors in Enterprises Founded by the Local Self-government Units on the Example of the Republic of Serbia

This study shows the importance of introducing control over the work of internal auditors in public enterprises. The aim of the study is to indicate possible benefits in the operations of public enterprises following the control conducted over the work of internal audit by public finance bodies. To reach their aim, the authors conducted a research and determined the existence of differences in the efficiency of operations in public utility enterprises with internal audit in place before and after the control conducted by public finance bodies. The obtained results show there is a strong impact of the control performed by the public finance bodies set up to supervise the work of internal auditors in public enterprises on the operating results expressed as total revenues of public enterprises.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH POLICY IN THREE SOUTH EASTERN COUNTRIES

The legal framework for occupational safety and health is a key factor in effective policy implementation in this area at the local level. Employees in local self-government units perform tasks of immediate interest for the local population and, because of that, their workplace safety and health is an important issue. Given that there is not much research on the safety and health of employees in local self-government units in the countries of Southeast Europe, there is a need for the analysis of the protection provided by the applicable regulations. The conducted research shows that this category of employees is not specifically recognized either in the regulations on occupational safety and health or in the regulations on local self-government. It is desirable to improve the quality of legal protection which will contribute to the improvement of the workplace safety and health of these employees and will improve the quality of work in local self-governments.

Fiscal Stability of the Local Government Units in the Republic of Srpska

Abstract Fiscal stability of the local self-government units is the condition for stable public finances of the Republic of Srpska (hereinafter: RS) as a whole. Stable public finances of local self-government units have a positive impact on the economic growth of the RS. Therefore, it is necessary to pay a significant attention to the fiscal problems of local self-government units (hereinafter: LGUs). Although the public finances of the LGUs make up 15% of the total public finances of the Republic of Srpska, it is important to emphasize that the life of the RS citizens takes place in the local self-government. In this regard, LGUs have the important role in providing public goods and services, as well as creating the environment for the life of citizens on the basis of legally defined competencies. Having in mind the importance and role of local self-government units in the RS, it is necessary to ensure the efficient management and stability of their public finances. One of the preconditions for the successful exercise of the competencies of LGUs is the rational and efficient use of available resources. The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of the key fiscal factors of local self-government units on their fiscal stability. The results of this analysis will provide answers to the question of how rational and efficient local self-government units are in the execution of their competencies and how it is reflected on their revenues and expenditures, i.e. in total public finances of RS.

The Concept of Financial Control of Communes Based on the Experience of Poland

Abstract Subject and purpose of work: The subject of the study are the elements of the Ukrainian financial control system. A combination of those elements enables formulating a concept which is directed at financial control of communes. The purpose of the study is identifying main directions of modernization of the Ukrainian financial control system over self-government units. Materials and methods: This study provides an analysis of government data and commercial statistics based on official studies, evaluation reports, program documents, website data, open research papers and promotional materials. The main elements and European experience that, in the author’s opinion, are necessary for the construction of an effective finance control system of communes have been used in the construction of the concept of financial control over communes. Results: The key elements of the system of financial control over local self-government units of Poland are revealed. The improvement of financial control over communes in Ukraine and a number of organizational, economic and legal steps to optimize financial control at the local level are proposed. Conclusions: The article presents the main principles, measures and steps functioning in Polish financial control,which constitutes the basis for the formulation of a model of local finance control in Ukraine.

Assessment of Poverty by Municipalities in the Context of Population Ageing—The Case of Małopolskie Voivodeship

This article undertakes the research problem of the assessment of the significance of poverty as a social challenge for local self-government units, and the differences in the assessment of the incidence of this phenomenon depending on the type of municipality. The authors also analyse the relationships between the ageing of the population and the assessment of the extent of poverty by municipalities. It must be pointed out that the undertaken problem has not been a subject of in-depth analysis thus far. Hence, this article fills the identified research gap in this field. The empirical part is based on the results of our own research, conducted using the Computer-Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) method on a sample of 144 municipalities of the Małopolskie Voivodship (Poland). In order to verify whether there is a relationship between the researched qualitative variables, the chi-square test of independence was used. In order to determine the relationships occurring between the categories of variables characterising the scale of the incidence of poverty and the remaining variables, a correspondence analysis was conducted. The research enabled us to find the issue of poverty to be one of the most important social problems from the point of view of municipalities. It is also worth noting that the degree of ageing in the population has an impact on the assessment of poverty among the elderly.

Impact of Internal Control in Enterprises Founded by Local Self-Government Units: The Case of Republic of Serbia

In the countries in transition, like the Republic of Serbia, system innovations are being introduced, such as the implementation of internal controls in enterprises. The authors of the paper formulated a research question which is if the introduction of internal controls could have an impact on the improvement of governance in public utility enterprises founded by the units of local self government. The main goal of the research was to identify possible improvement in corporate operations measured by an increase in revenues made by public utility enterprises following the implementation of internal controls. In addition to that, the secondary goal of the authors was to determine differences in operating efficiency between public utility enterprises and the so called other enterprises that put in place internal controls in their current operations. Further on, the authors of this paper wanted to find out which type of internal controls in place in public utility enterprises and other enterprises enabled best performance. The usefulness of the study is visible in the presented results of the research. Specifically, they indicate significant differences between public utility enterprises and other enterprises, both in terms of implementation of internal controls and in their performance, which was proven in 2018. In addition to that, performance of public utility enterprises founded by local self-government units is found to be better than that of the so called other enterprises after the introduction of internal controls.

The The Role of Public Order Regulations as Acts of Local Law in the Performance of Tasks in the Field of Public Security by Local Self-government in Poland

The subject of the article are the issues concerning the enactment by local self-government bodies in Poland of a special category of acts of local law, i.e. public order regulations. Public order regulations belong to the sources of universally binding law in Poland. Not only government administration bodies, but also local self-government may adopt them. By means of public order regulations, such values as: life, health, property of citizens, environment, public order, peace and public security are protected. The status of public order regulations in the Polish legal order, which are bodies of local self-government units to protect the life or health of citizens and to ensure public order, peace and security, is not the subject to clear legislation or consent among scholars in the field and in relevant case-law. Therefore, the aim of the article is to determine the legal status of local law acts in the form of public order regulations in Poland and to define their role in the performance of tasks in the field of public security by local self-government. The author refers also to relevant legal solutions applicable in other member states of the Visegrad Group. The main thesis of the article is a statement that acts of local law in the form of public order regulations are a desirable manifestation of the law-making decentralisation of the state, which is necessary for the effective performance of tasks in the field of public security by local self-government bodies.

Participatory Budgeting – the Case of the Slovak Republic

This paper deals with the issue of participatory budgeting as one of the newer tools of political participation. Its aim is to characterise the current situation in the Slovak Republic at two levels of territorial self-administration (self-governing regions and municipalities). To reach defined aims, it monitors the existence of legislative settings at the national level, the existence of individual settings at the observed levels and subsequently the practical application of the participatory budgeting itself. Procedures associated with the study of documents are used in article; the obtained data are summarized, described and compared mutually. In addition to laws and regulations issued by self-government units, the source of data is also the regional and local self-government units’ official websites. In the absence of one universal definition of the participatory budgeting rules at the national level, the findings have shown that there are relatively extensive conditions for implementing participatory budgeting with its specific settings defined by self-administrations. In Slovakia, participatory budgeting is only gradually introduced into the internal rules, which reflects a relatively small number of municipalities or self-governing regions, which ultimately use it effectively.

FORMATION OF INFRASTRUCTURAL FACTORS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE REGION

This article highlights the problems of determining infrastructural factors in the system of socioeconomic and cultural development of regions. Using systemic and synergetic approaches, methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, comparative analysis, it is justified that a term “infrastructure” in its modern sense is the basis of the economic system and its components, its internal organization, which guarantees its integrity. At the same time, the socio-economic meaning of the concept of “regional infrastructure” is to provide the necessary conditions for economic and social development of territories. The important role of regional infrastructure stems from its functions, which can be divided into internal (specialized) and external (regional). Internal functions are a number of important economic and social functions performed by each enterprise, and element, and subdivision of the regional infrastructure. At the same time, external ones are to ensure a comprehensive and properly balanced development of the region in accordance with its resource potential and certain specialization. In order to unconditionally improve the situation in the regional infrastructure, today many hopes of the regional and local authorities are placed on attracting external investment capital as the most promising area for financing its modernization. It is worth noting that a number of powerful foreign and domestic companies that have the appropriate experience in solving such large-scale problems are ready to become investors and implement the best achievements of organizational and technical experience in the relevant regions of Ukraine. At the same time, it is established that at this time the regions of Ukraine are trying to use their resources as efficiently as possible for further development, are looking for new opportunities to use their potential. Its disclosure and effective use, taking into account the defining regional features and the corresponding economic specialization, require a proper increase in the efficiency of all elements of the regional infrastructure. However, whatever the features of its classification, it is undeniable that it plays a key role in implementing the strategy implementation of appropriate processes of modernization of the regional economy. So, the term “infrastructure” in the modern sense is the basis of the economic system and its components, its internal organization, which guarantees its integrity. Meanwhile, the socio-economic meaning of the concept of “regional infrastructure” is to provide appropriate conditions for economic and social development of the region. Simultaneously, the more developed and modernized it is, the more attractive any unit of local self-government becomes for various investors, in particular, from the outside, which creates new jobs, reduces unemployment and increases consumer demand. In addition, today the regions of Ukraine are trying to make the most efficient use of their resources for further development, are looking for new opportunities to use their full potential. Its disclosure and effective use, taking into account regional characteristics and economic specialization, need to increase the efficiency of all elements of regional infrastructure. Contemporarily, despite the diversity of approaches to understanding its essence and the existence of different concepts, it is logical to highlight its specific levels, each of the elements of which performs its function in the economic system of the region. Therefore, the classification of regional infrastructure on a functional basis into production, social and market is the most accurate. As the analysis of its selected elements presented in this work shows, the close interrelation between them and economic development of regions is traced. The higher level of its development causes the growth of foreign investments and increase of labour resources, acceleration of economic development and growth of living standards of the population of the region. Conversely, lowering the level of infrastructural development slows down production and may lead to a decline in living standards. However, whatever the features of its classification, it is undeniable that it primarily plays one of the most important roles when it comes to implementing a strategy for modernization of the regional economy.

Ključni faktori uspešne pripreme i implementacije projekata - primer lokalnih samouprava u Republici Srbiji

The purpose of paper is to identify factors that are of particular importance for the preparation and implementation of projects in local self-government units. The survey was conducted on the sample of local self-governments in the Republic of Serbia by using a structured questionnaire. The research results showed that the key factors for successful preparation and implementation of projects, ranked by importance, are the following: existence of a quality development strategy at the local level based on the appropriate national strategy, adequate competencies of the employees for the preparation and implementation of projects, ensuring a sufficient level of financial resources for pre-financing and co-financing projects, and establishing partnerships with organizations from other sectors. The results of study may be important for understanding ways to improve the current situation, with regard to the preparation and implementation of projects. The research showed that special organizational units for project management should be established in those local self-governments where such units do not exist, encouraging them to continuously work on the preparation of proposal for different projects. Also, before launching official calls for proposals, it is important to work on improving the local development strategy, in order to, depending on the gaps identified in terms of employees' knowledge and competencies, continuously try to enhance them.

Menadžment vanredne situacije tokom epidemije KOVID-19 u Republici Srbiji

For the first time in the history of humanity, the world encountered a global emergency that showed all the weaknesses of emergency management and the unwillingness of states to respond to that challenge adequately. Although it is evident that the governments in which the state-owned health care system adapted more quickly to the epidemic, it was also apparent that the emergency management was practically on local governments, but also that the states with a clearly defined legal framework and established management systems emergencies are easier to deal with such an emergency. In the Republic of Serbia, there is a legally prescribed procedure for acting in epidemics, which is a sufficient basis for engaging emergency management. The organizational challenges of the epidemic are practically the responsibility of local self-government units, and so far, although the epidemic is still ongoing, according to available data, it seems that they are adequately responding to that challenge. This paper is based on the legal framework analysis for introducing the state of emergency and the practical research of the engagement of local self-governments during the epidemic.