Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia
Regional workshops – Digital needs of municipalities
The utilization of advanced digital technologies addresses developmental, economic and political solving of challenges in villages and towns. It represents a choice that has no alternative. Advantages of intensive and innovative use of advanced digital technologies set municipalities in the centre of digital transformation of society. In these endeavours, local level is relevant for implementation of partnerships, competency development, data generation and use of new data sources, business models, investments in digital infrastructure (e-services) and problem solving of local communities through digital technologies.
How to approach this procedure smartly, what we can do together and effectively and what each municipality has to do, how to choose appropriate technologies and whom to ask for advice, which fields are appropriate and mature for digital development and how to fund it…are some of challengeable questions.
In order to successfully meet these challenges, the Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia (SOS) has established a strategic partnership with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, and named it
4PDIH (Public, Private, People Partnership – Digital Innovation Hub). A 4PDIH website has been set up and will be equipped with helpful content for municipalities. For better introduction of actual needs of municipalities, there are going to be organized 10 regional workshops around Slovenia (Kočevje, Novo mesto, Murska Sobota, Ajdovščina, Škofja Loka,etc.) for public employees, companies, NGOs and citizens. Execution workshops will be supported by the Ministry of Public Administration as well.
The goal of the strategic partnership 4PDIH is co-creation of integrated solutions with high economic, social and environmental added value.
The Government defined the draft text of the Act on Financial Relief of Municipalities
The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has established on 31 January 2019 a working group for preparation of legislation amendments, which will reduce the municipal costs. The working group had to review proposals from representative municipal associations (e.g. Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia) about sectoral amendments legislation to the end of June 2019. In December 2019, the Government on its 54th regular session determined the text of the draft Act on Financial Relief of Municipalities (sl. ZFRO - Zakon o finančni razbremenitvi občin) and forwarded it to the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia for consideration in accordance with the ordinary procedure.
The Act on Financial Relief of Municipalities represents a matter of saving public funds and transferring the financial obligation from the municipal budgets to the state budgets. The act regulates the reduction of municipal costs to perform legally mandated tasks, the reduction of administrative procedures and the increase of some municipal revenues. The principles of the law are task alignment with the constitutional principle that the municipal authority consists of local affairs, which municipality can regulate independently, and which concern only inhabitants of the municipality, and the principle of rational use of public funds.
The proposed act encroaches on the following nine acts: Administrative Fees Act, Adult Education Act, Exercise of Rights from Public Funds Act, Notary Act, Health Care and Health Insurance Act, Social Security Act, Financing of Municipalities Act and Labour Market Regulation Act.
Association of Cities in the Republic of Croatia
Smart City of Ploče
Smart City of Ploče is a city management concept based on the use of new technologies and the introduction of innovative city service delivery models. The project is worth HRK 246,717.50 (cca 33 thousand EUR), with VAT included, and is co-financed by the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund with 40%.
The goal of the project is to optimize the business processes of the City of Ploče by introducing an Integrated Document Monitoring, Control and Management System with included session management and project monitoring modules. In order to set up the system, the necessary sophisticated equipment will be procured to enable the digital management of the City documents, necessary for day-to-day business, including documents that need to be targeted at citizens. Project implementation will have a further positive effect on the sustainable development component and the environment by reducing the use of office material, such as paper, binders, printers, toners, etc.
The City of Ploče is one of 19 cities with accepted application by the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund. In addition to the digitization project for the city government, the Fund will also co-finance a video surveillance system. The value of both projects is over HRK 923 thousand (cca 123 thousand EUR), and the Fund will co-finance HRK 370 thousand (cca 49 thousand EUR).
Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities
Certificates delivered to the participants of e - Training "Good Governance at the Local Level"
The delivery of the e-Training "Good Governance at the Local Level" was concluded on December 20, 2019 by the ceremonial delivery of the certificates to the participants. The training was accredited, and 147 trainees from 53 local self-governments were certified by the National Academy of Public Administration and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) - which is an accredited training provider.
This is the second training on this topic, and will be organized in the coming years within the project "Improving good governance at the local level", which is implemented through the Swiss Government Support Program for Municipal Development through the Promotion of Good Governance and Social Inclusion – SwissPRO, and which is conducted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in partnership with the SCTM.
The e-training lasted seven weeks and provided key information, knowledge and examples of practice relevant to the implementation of good governance principles in local self-governments in areas such as: responsible development and public resource management, predictability of administrative procedures, cost-effective and efficient exercise of local self-government competencies, protection of rights and participation of citizens in conducting public affairs at the local level, equality and prohibition of discrimination, transparency in the conduct of local self-government affairs and prevention and sanctioning of corruption at local level.
“The main objective of public administration reform is to enable a better life for citizens, as well as to improve the quality of services we provide to them. These services can be of high quality only if they are provided by professionals, so I thank you for your dedication and engagement in attending the training”, said Sasa Mogic, Assistant Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government.
Mogic announced that the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government is beginning work on preparing a program of reform of the local self-government system in cooperation with the SCTM and again with the support of the Government of Switzerland. According to him, this program for the first time in Serbia should come up with a strategic document that deals only with the reform of the local self-government system. This document will cover everything that exists at the local level: administration, institutions, businesses, job organization, funding, election system, demographic trends, and more.
Djordje Stanicic, Secretary General of the SCTM thanked the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government for their cooperation, UNOPS as a partner, and the donor - the Government of Switzerland. He congratulated the training participants who, after seven weeks of intensive work on 13 lessons and the same number of exams - tests and assignments, together with their mentors successfully completed accredited e-training, and thus earned the right to a certificate.
In his address, Stanicic emphasized the reform of the public administration system
: "The working group that will work on the development of the program of reform of the local self-government system is a great tool that should help us all to take stock of the situation in our society and to see what needs to be done".
He stated that in the process of drafting the program, it was important to pay attention to the documents we accepted as a society, and cited as a special the European Charter on Local Self-Government, which was accepted by our country as a member of the Council of Europe. He emphasized the need to recognize in the process of drafting this document all who can contribute to the success of this process, because the meaning is not in complete centralization or decentralization, but in accordance with the principles of good governance the whole process should be primarily for the benefit of those it is intended for - citizens and the economy.
Dragan Mladenovic, Good Governance Advisor at the SwissPRO Program at the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), emphasized that the idea was for all e-Training participants to become the focal points, which local self-governments can rely on when developing a document, policy or when developing a project.
The SwissPRO program is the third extension of the United Nations Office for Project Services and is being implemented for the first time in 99 towns and municipalities in Serbia, belonging to western, southern and eastern Serbia, as well as Sumadija.
During the delivery of the certificates, the success of the eight e- Training trainees who reached the highest number of points was particularly emphasized: Bojana Maravik from Sid, Milena Dikovic from Stara Pazova, Hidajet Plojovic from Novi Pazar, Vesna Radojevic from Belgrade, Ksenija Holender from Kragujevac, Milos Blagojevic from Sombor, Romko Papuga from Sid, and Svetlana Podvinski from Belgrade.
National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria
Preparation for the upcoming NAMRB General Assembly
A month ahead of the General Assembly of NAMRB in February 2020, the Management Board discussed its preparation and approved the main discussion papers, reports and the programme of the Association for the current year. The Management Board approved the rules of procedures for the organization and nomination of members of the commissions that will be responsible for the elections for the renewal of NAMRB governing bodies. The newly elected members will be decided and announced at the upcoming General Assembly. The preparatory work started this week with two regional assemblies in Pravets and Varshets for the Southwestern and Northwestern regions of Bulgaria, and will continue with four more regional meetings in the following weeks.
Photo: Meeting of NAMRB Management Board
The Management Board also approved NAMRB’s framework position for the upcoming budget procedure for 2021, as well as the proposal for amending the rules for subsidizing public transport on unprofitable routes. Here are the budgetary priorities in short:
- Further development of municipal own revenue base, including through partial transfer of national revenues and taxes;
- Continue the process of updating the Local Taxes and Fees Act with focus on updating tax assessments;
- Development of new measures and instruments for increasing the collection of own revenues and creation of modern and secure e-tax services on local level.
Municipalities will assist the process of improving the support mechanisms for financially weaker municipalities to the greatest extent possible, incl. by improving distribution mechanisms. Increasing the powers of municipalities in managing state-delegated activities should be done under clear requirements and financial security, while at the same time NAMRB will contribute to the process with a thorough examination of the “defects” in the current mechanism for setting standards for delegated activities and through a package of thematic forums for experts from the municipalities and the central administration.
It is expected that the Bulgarian Government will approve the 2021 Budget Procedure by the end of January, thus setting the deadlines and responsibilities of the Ministry of Finance, other institutions and municipalities in elaborating the mid-term budgetary forecast and the draft state budget for the next year.
9 municipalities are competing for BAIT Awards in February
A total of 108 applications have been submitted for the annual Awards of the Bulgarian Association of Information Technologies (BAIT). Among the nominees in the category "Educational projects" is Dobrich Municipality with its initiative of Interactive educational games on topics, such as: "Searching for Bulgaria" and "Searching for Dobrudzha", realized by the Regional History Museum.
In the Public Administration category, 8 out of 14 applications are submitted by municipalities for projects they have implemented for enhancing the administrative services for citizens and businesses. One of these projects is Sofia Municipality’s new mobile application "NAG.Mobile".
Varna Municipality participates in the contest with FUTURO International Festival of Digital Arts. Radnevo Municipality takes part in the competition with a system for analytical video surveillance, which is an element of the overall system for ensuring public order. Stara Zagora administration has also implemented digital services in the field of communication with citizens. Thus, this year the municipality presented the newly developed platform for signals and recommendations, an application for electronic tickets purchase in the public transport and others.
Rousse municipality is applying with its technological solutions for traffic control at key and neurological points in the city. The WiFi4EU network in Strumyani municipality already provides access to administrative services to more than 75% of the population, and this year is among the applicants for the BAIT awards. Gabrovo participates with the implemented system for digitalization of the main activities for control and management of business processes in the municipal enterprise “Blagoustroyavane”. With the common platform - Smart Burgas, the municipality is among the serious contenders in the competition organized by the BAIT.
Devnya municipality is the winner in Nestle Live Actively competition
Devnya municipality won Nestle Live Actively competition for 2019 and received a lump sum of 20 000 BGN for renovation of the park in Devnya River neighbourhood. The prize was awarded to the mayor of the municipality Mr. Svilen Shitov, who personally presented the project. He emphasized that the initiative "Nestle Live Actively" will become an integral part of the annual sports’ calendar of Devnya municipality. With the money won and additional own funding, the municipality will renovate the park in the "Devnya River", which should become a modern space for various activities for the residents, as well as for the guests to the neighbourhood.
One of the specific accents in the project is that the landscaping will be done on a voluntary basis and will encourage people from the municipality to contribute for the development of the urban environment. The new park area will be opened for the public in the beginning of June.
A total number of 12 municipalities participated in the national competition, which was part of the large initiative for balanced nutrition and active lifestyle “Nestle Live Actively”. The aim of the campaign is to motivate more and more people from all over the country to lead an active lifestyle, for balanced nutrition and to support the efforts of local authorities in this direction.
Each of the municipalities that participated in 2019 initiative organized a large public event dedicated to sport, sensible nutrition and active lifestyle. For all their efforts in support of “Nestle Live Actively” campaign, local administrations received funding for a future project, which must be completed within 2020. The finalists in the competition presented their initiatives in public and received prizes from the sponsors.
Upcoming Events
- 30 January 2020, Tirana, Albania: AAM - Training on Introduction to Infrastructure Investment Projects for LGUs and PUCs
- 3 February 2020, Kolasin, Montenegro: UOM - Training on Capital Infrastructure Investment Projects for Montenegro Local Governments
Upon the call from NALAS, Marmara Municipality Union (MMU) dispatched two experts from Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department to Albania to support Albanian Municipalities in managing the crisis situation that emerged after a series of earthquakes hit the country in November 2019.
