Governor Nikolai Merkushkin is in a hurry with local reform

In Samara, on the initiative of Governor Nikolai Merkushkin, the formation of district public councils begins. The term of office of the Samara City Duma expires in October of this year, and, according to the law on local self-government, the city parliament can be formed from deputies delegated by the districts. Samara may become the second large city after Chelyabinsk, where, as part of the reform of local self-government (LSG), they switched to the scheme for forming local authorities introduced last year.

Photo: Anatoly Zhdanov, Kommersant / buy photo

The beginning of the formation of territorial public councils in Samara in February was announced by the head of the region, Nikolai Merkushkin, at a Friday meeting in the regional government. The governor explained that in the regions of Samara there are “many questions and problems”: “It is logical to create public councils there, which would then form a representative government and make the lives of people in their community more comfortable.” According to the head of the region, public councils should be formed by April. District councils may be given the right of legislative initiative and will receive a small staff of performers who “will deal with solving the problems of the microdistrict.” At the same time, on the initiative of Samara city manager Oleg Fursov, the current number of city and district administrations will be reduced by 15–20%.

In October 2015, the powers of Samara City Duma deputies expire. As regional parliament member Mikhail Matveev told Kommersant, two options for local reform are being considered. One of them provides for direct elections to the City Duma with an increase in the number of deputies from 35 to 49 (of which 14 are elected from party lists) and the parallel formation of district councils. The second option involves the election of deputies to district councils, who delegate their representatives to the City Duma. “Most likely, the second option will be implemented in Samara,” expects Mr. Matveev.

Let us remember that this very scheme, introduced into legislation last year as part of the reform of local self-government, has so far been tested only in Chelyabinsk, where the city Duma is formed from deputies delegated by the districts. At the same time, district administrations do not yet have their own budgets, and city deputies are already discussing the issue of transferring powers in the housing and communal services sector from the district to the city level.

In the Samara region, by decision of the regional Duma in June last year, elections for heads of districts and settlements were canceled, and on September 25 - elections for the mayor of Samara. The decision on Samara was made by a separate law in connection with the transfer of Mayor Dmitry Azarov to the Federation Council. In mid-November last year, direct elections were canceled in other cities in the region. Following the results of the competition, the former Minister of Labor, Employment and Migration Policy of the region Oleg Fursov became the city manager of Samara.

Mikhail Matveev does not rule out that district councils will become a means of supporting ideas “from above”, and the process of their formation will turn into a formality: “To work effectively, they need real resources and powers, otherwise they will become a reception area for complaints addressed to the governor.” Political scientist Oleg Kazachek believes that the reform makes sense if “the population actively participates in the life of the city” and the councils receive real power.

Ekaterina Vyushkova, Samara

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