In society

Local government of Germany

February 6, 2018 Peter Filippov

In addition to the classical division of the authorities horizontal-into legislative, executive and judicial, power in Germany is divided “vertical”-there are federal governing bodies, governing bodies of 16 federal lands, authorities of the regions (they are represented by large administrative-territorial units, where up to 500 thousand people live) and power structures of self-governing communal corporations (communities, cities).

The German local government model, as well as the model of its political structure as a whole, is considered one of the most effective in the world. The local government of Germany, experts believe, is one of the basic elements of society and the state and successfully copes with the tasks assigned to it.

Local government in Germany is a matter of the competence of the subject of the Federation. Each federal land has the right to solve this issue in its own way, and the federal center is not entitled to intervene in the issues of organizing local self-government. Thus, the legal framework for the functioning of local self -government is the laws of federal lands. The only legislative act of the federal level is an article 28 of the Basic Law, which states that the community has the right to self -government, and the state is obliged to grant this right.

Despite the wide legislative possibilities for the variety of local governments, in almost all federal lands, local self -government is organized the same. It is carried out at the level of individual communities, settlements, at the level of municipal areas. There are also a number of large cities in which the management is independent. In German terminology, such a model is called two -level.

At the local level, communal self -government guarantees citizens the right to independently make decisions regarding relevant issues of this territorial unit. The state is obliged to help less and lower administrative entities (lands, districts and communities), but cannot interfere in their internal affairs. The state provides community personnel, organizational, planned (construction), law -making, financial and tax sovereignty. The financial base of communities is formed at the expense of payments and taxes (from the land, property, crafts, for vehicles, for the maintenance of dogs, from entertainment events), targeted fees, one -time contributions, federal and land subsidies, loans.

The Union of German Cities was formed in 1905 and includes 5600 communities. 150 of its employees are engaged in the development of recommendations, draft various instructions, provisions, forecasting legislative acts based on the study of the accumulated experience of self -government bodies.

The communities have their own and delegated from above (including mandatory and voluntary) powers. Own powers include: supplying citizens with water, electricity, heat and gas; sewage, wastewater cleaning, garbage removal; planning of the territory; construction and maintenance of local roads, medical and educational institutions, sports facilities, nursing houses, parks, cemeteries; fire department; update and maintenance of local transport; Development of public utilities.

Delegated powers include such areas of activity as general security; citizenship issues (passport business), registration; recording of acts of civil status; crafts; construction; road traffic, registration of transport and tax collection from it; election; social sphere; work with youth; statistics; monuments protection; forest and fish farm; Culture of agriculture.

There is a clear distinction between the powers between the community, district, land. Thus, communities (small cities) do not account for pensioners, teachers, police officers and do not deal with their problems, because working with pensioners is the responsibility of the district, and work with teachers and police officers is the obligation of the land.

By the beginning of the 1970s, there were about 24,000 municipalities in Germany. The administrative reform, initiated in the 70s, took about 8-10 years. As a result of the reform, about 10,000 municipalities remained. The process of enlargement of communities continues. It is supposed to have only 7,000 municipalities. After the unification of Germany in 1990, the new federal lands faced the task of carrying out the reform of local self -government, which took about 5 years.

As for the structure of local authorities, the German system of local self -government characterizes the stability of structural divisions of administrations and officials. Officials of all levels are assigned to life, the structure of the apparatus of the mayor's and other authorities operates for decades without changes. With the advent of a new mayor or burgomaster, only his adviser, assistant, secretary, i.e. total 2-3 officials.

For a long time, until the end of 1999, in Germany, the entire palette of theoretically possible models of the organizational structure of local self-government existed (South German model, the North German model, the Model model, the burgomaster model appointed by the Council). The South German model was as effective as possible for Germany, in which the burgomaster is elected direct elections and at the same time leads two bodies-representative and executive. Despite the stormy discussions, during which opponents of this model, not without reason, indicated the increasing authoritarianism of power and belittling the meaning of the representative body, this model in practice proved its expediency and effectiveness and, by the end of 1999, became prevailing in the territory of all of Germany.

This model ensures the absence of disagreements between the local administration and deputies of the local representative body. The deputy corps at the level of communities, even large cities considers itself not an independent branch of local authorities, but the main unit of the administration designed to establish the rules of the “game”, approve instructions and provisions, accept the budget and monitor its execution, especially its revenue.

State supervision in relation to municipalities is carried out by the constituent entities of the Federation. The system of state supervision in this area was polished for years. To date, up to 99% of the measures taken within the framework of the state supervision is a preventive, not punishing nature, which undoubtedly indicates both its competent and professional implementation and the effectiveness of the German system of local self -government.

The material for the press was prepared by Peter Filippov

http://www.gmu-countries.ru/europa/germany/germ-localgov.html

Photo: DPA/TASS