книги / Местное самоуправление в современном обществе

ipalities (“Ortsgemeinden”) are preserved as fully-fledged local selfgovernment units with their traditional responsibilities, such as budgetary and local planning rights. At the same time, the Verbandsgemeinde also constitutes a fully-fledged local selfgovernment entity with directly elected councils. Functionally, they are responsible for overarching tasks (e.g. land use planning) and the operative support of their Ortsgemeinden .

The majority of Länder have opted for a “mixed” (“hybrid”) variant lying, as it were, between the Northern and Southern European reform types. This, on the one hand, implies a clearly more restrained reduction of the number of municipalities through territorial consolidation (for example, in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria by 67 percent and 71 percent, respectively), resulting in an average population size of municipalities of around 8.000 inhabitants. On the other hand, inter-municipal formations (labelled often as administrative associations, “Verwaltungsgemeinschaften”) have been also set up as a “dual structure” to support their associated smaller municipalities. At the same time, during the late 1960s and early 1970s the counties were also territorially rescaled , thus cutting their total number countrywide from 425 to 237(arriving at an average population size of 60.000 inhabitants) (cf. Laux 1999).

After 1990, the East German Land governments also turned to territorial reforms of the counties as an important step towards installing efficient local government structures . This amalgamation of counties resulted in a reduction of their overall number from 189 to 87, leading to an average population size of over 100.000 inhabitants cf. Wollmann 1997a). However, despite having to cope with a multitude of small and tiny municipalities, the Land governments initially decided to without municipal territorial reforms altogether. The reason for this was, first of all, to politically respect the just – recently regained local democracy, not least in the smaller and smallest municipalities, but also to avoid, for the time being, the conflict that potentially goes with municipal territorial reforms (cf. Kuhlmann 2009a). Thus, they preferred a Southern European reform strategy, as

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it were, by leaving the existing territorial structure of municipalities unattained and by, instead, introducing inter-municipal formations which, following the West German example, had the function of providing operative and cooperative support to their member municipalities (cf. Wollmann 1997a). As a consequence of this early reform process, the Land of Brandenburg, for example, had 1.739 municipalities (with an average of 1.800 inhabitants) of which 97 percent were grouped into 123 inter-municipal formations (Ämter); (cf. Wollmann 1996a; with data on Brandenburg and other East German Länder).

New territorial reforms in East Germany

In the meantime, a new round of territorial reforms was set off in the East German Länder, typically involving the territorial reform of municipalities by means of amalgamation and a corresponding reduction in the number and scope of inter-municipal formations (cf. Kuhlmann 2009a; Wollmann 2010c). This reform wave was kicked off by the Land of Brandenburg. Following a controversial political debate and in the face of continuing local resistance, the Land parliament decided to carry out a municipal territorial reform to come into effect on 1 January 2005. Consequently, the number of municipalities was diminished through municipal amalgamation from 1.479 to 419

to 35 percent (which had previously been at 3 percent). Thus, the Land of Brandenburg’s territorial reform trajectory picked up a somewhat Northern European territorial reform pattern in the direction of upscaling. Similar (i.e., Northern European) territorial reforms were, in the meantime, embarked on in Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony (cf. Kuhlmann 2009a; Wollmann 2010c).

Saxony-Anhalt: “double decker municipality”

The most recent example of reform can be seen in the Land of Sax- ony-Anhalt, where, accompanied by sharp political and judicial conflicts, the parliament decided to cut the number of municipalities from 1.030 (with an average of 2.000 inhabitants) to 219 (with an average of 10.900

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inhabitants) by municipal amalgamation taking effect on 1 January 2011. About half of the municipalities are now organized as “integrated” municipalities (Einheitsgemeinden), while the other half are grouped into intermunicipal formations (Verbandsgemeinden). It deserves mentioning that Saxony-Anhalt’s previous variant of inter-municipal format (to wit, the administrative association, (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft)) was replaced with the variant of Verbandsgemeinde, that is, the “double decker municipality” whereby Saxony-Anhalt followed Rhineland-Palatinate’s “invention”. Currently, the Land of Brandenburg is also considering a new local government reform which may well result in the formation of larger municipalities, possibly including the “double decker model” of the Verbandsgemeinde.

In the meantime, Rhineland-Palatinate, as the first West German Land, initiated local level territorial reform . This was limited, however, to a territorially rescaling of 28 municipalities outside the Verbandsgemeinden and the 163 Verbandsgemeinden themselves (with an average population of 10.000 for the former and of 12.000 for the latter) until the local elections in March 2014. By contrast, a reform of the 2.258 municipalities within the Verbandsgemeinden as well the counties has so far not been considered.

5. Cross-Country Comparison: Convergence,

Divergence, Persistence and Explanatory Factors

Finally and in summary, the development of territorial structure of the subnational levels will be discussed as to whether, to which extent and why it exhibits convergent or divergent patterns (for an overview and further country analyses cf. also Hulst/Montfort 2007; Baldersheim/Rose 2010c; Swianiewicz 2010). With regard to territorial and population size, the municipalities still show large, and in some cases even palpable differences. This is particularly conspicuous in the population size (between 1.640 and 139.000) as well as, for example, in the proportion of municipalities with fewer than 5.000 inhabitants (between 96 percent and 2 percent or 0 percent, cf. page 334). Thus, territorial structure does not signal convergence

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but, on the contrary, reveals persistent differences and divergence. However, within certain country clusters cross-country trends (convergence) can be recognized.

Source: Dexia 2008

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On the one hand, countries possessing the Northern European reform profile (England, Sweden, Denmark, some German Länder) demonstrate convergence among each other insofar as in some cases, large-scale amalgamation of existing small local governments has been effected, resulting in demographically enlarged municipalities (up-scaling, Baldersheim/Rose 2010a). In a reform wave that has set in since 2000, Southern European Greece as well as the Central Eastern European EU-accession countries of Bulgaria and Lithuania have moved closer to the Northern European territorial reform profile. This has been additionally pushed by the financial and euro crisis and the pressure from the EU. However, these countries, albeit within an overall convergent development, still reveal significant, and in part, glaring differences in the average population size of their municipalities – from 140.000 (England) to 10.700 (Greece).

Inter-municipal formations

On the other hand, convergence becomes apparent within the group of countries within the Southern European reform pattern (France, Italy, and the majority of the Central and Eastern European countries) in that (almost) no territorial reforms on the municipal level have been realized by way of amalgamation, thus leaving their historically fragmented territorial structure unchanged, while putting in place a layer of inter-municipal formations for their operative support (trans-scaling, Baldersheim/Rose 2010a, see also Hulst/Montfort 2007). While these countries display an overall (convergent) Southern European pattern, their average population size is significantly different (e.g. with 1.720 inhabitants in France and 7.250 inhabitants in Italy). Whether the financial crisis and the EU-induced pressure will prompt the “southern countries” to move more closely towards Northern European-type up-scaling thus resulting in convergence, yet remains to be seen. Indications of this can be noticed in Greece’s territorial reforms and Italy’s recent, albeit still not realized, pertinent reform legislation. In their local level territorial reforms, the German Länder present a mixed (hybrid) picture in that most of them have a somewhat Southern European reform profile, while two (North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse) have a Northern European

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one. Due to the recent reform wave that has gained momentum since 1990, the East German Länder have moved towards the Northern European reform pattern through amalgamating their municipalities and diminishing the inter-municipal formations.

The question remains as to which factors have impinged on the respective convergence or divergence. The dynamics of the territorial development that in the Northern European countries was directed at the “enlargement in scale” of the local government units was essentially driven by the fact that in these countries the parliaments have, constitutionally and politically, the power to enforce a local government territorial structure envisaged through binding legislation, with reference to the overriding “common good”, even in the face of rejection or resistance by the affected (small) municipalities. This parliamentary decision-making power harks back to institutional history and political culture in the multi-level system of these countries, according to which local government level was assigned a crucial role in the realization, on the local level, of the national welfare and intervention state. The understanding and willingness to subordinate local self-determination ultimately to the parliamentary decisionmaking powers is entrenched in the political and parliamentarian culture of these (not surprisingly largely Protestant) countries.

One determining, conceptual driving force (framing) of territorial reforms was to enhance the improvement of the operative planning, action and coordination capacity of the local authorities through their territorial and demographic “enlargement”. This impulse came to bear on the reform wave of the 1960s and 1970s, inspired by the “rationalist” zeitgeist, as well as in the recent round of reforms. The different scope and speed of reforms reflect and are influenced by the different goals and intentions of the relevant (par- ty-) political actors (in the sense of actor-centred institutionalism).

Voluntary principle

By contrast, the continuity and persistence of the local government territorial structure in the Southern European countries can be largely accounted for by the path-dependent constitutional, political

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and political-cultural assumption that territorial changes by way of amalgamating existing municipalities can be achieved only with the consent of the affected local government units and their population. This “voluntary” principle (volontariat) which has proven to be an ongoing obstacle to territorial change in local political practice is premised on the conviction, rooted in institutional history and political culture, that the realization of the welfare state is essentially assigned to the (Napoleonic) centralized state administration. At the same time, the function of the local government level is, first of all, focused on serving as the political arena and site for the local citizens to define, express and “live” their local identity. In addition, the “voluntary” principle is anchored in the institutionally guaranteed influence exercised by (for example, in France) the local mayor as defender of the territorial status quo also on the national level (for a detailed comparative country analysis, see Baldersheim/Rose 2010c).

External pressure and crises

A rupture or even a deviation from a “path-dependent” institutional trajectory occurs if and when the relevant actors (in the sense of actor-centred institutionalism) feel prompted to perform a political or institutional “act of strength”, for instance in a situation which they deem to be a deep crisis of the existing territorial or organizational structures. This kind of situation can be triggered by urgent external pressures, such as an economic or fiscal crisis (e.g. the current budgetary and debt crisis in the Southern European countries) or demographic problems. For example, the territorial reform drive in the East German Länder has been propelled by the perception that the existing small municipalities were increasingly “bleeding empty” demographically, politically, economically and financially. In addition, the operative and political functionality of inter-municipal formations has been increasingly called into question because of their high coordination, cooperation and transaction costs. In France, similar assessments and motives guided the reform project of 2010, one which hinged on the functional, financial and democratic strengthening of the communautés as a pragmatic move towards ta territorial

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reform “without explicit amalgamation” (Marcou 2010), thus making for an all but gradual deviation from the path-dependently prevalent intercommunalité. The Italian government, too, saw the need to react to the mounting budgetary crisis and pressure from the EU Commission by putting together its reform package of 2012.

Сабина Кульманн, Хельмут Вольманн

РЕФОРМЫ ТЕРРИТОРИАЛЬНОЙ ОРГАНИЗАЦИИ МЕСТНОГО САМОУПРАВЛЕНИЯ В ЕВРОПЕЙСКИХ СТРАНАХ

Территориальная организация местного самоуправления (МСУ) является одним из важнейших аспектов в системе МСУ. Вследствие этого каждая страна ищет оптимальную модель территориальной структуры муниципальных образований. В статье представлен сравнительный анализ реформ территориальной организации МСУ в европейских странах, что позволило авторам выделить две модели реформирования. В североевропейских странах реформы нацелены на объединение муниципалитетов, увеличение их размеров, что должно повысить административную эффективность. В странах Южной Европы акцент делается на межмуниципальную кооперацию и взаимодействие. Германия на этом фоне демонстрирует средний путь. Таким образом, исследование обнаруживает существенное расхождение в способах реформирования территориальной организации МСУ. В то же время в рамках каждойиздвухгруппстраннаблюдаетсяконвергенция.

Ключевые слова: местное самоуправление, муниципальные образования, территориальная организация МСУ, реформы.

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А.А. Ларичев

ДОХОДЫ МУНИЦИПАЛИТЕТОВ ОТ ПРЕДОСТАВЛЕНИЯ НАСЕЛЕНИЮ УСЛУГ И МЕЖПРАВИТЕЛЬСТВЕННЫХ ТРАНСФЕРТОВ: ОПЫТ КАНАДЫ

Дается анализ таких источников доходной части бюджетов муниципальных образований в Канаде, как средства от предоставления населению услуг и межправительственных трансфертов. На основе проведенного исследования автором делается вывод о недостаточности первого из рассматриваемых источников доходов в сопоставлении с соответствующими расходами и поиске возможностей его оптимизации, а также важной роли трансфертов в финансировании муниципальных программ, прежде всего, в сфере развития инфраструктуры канадских муниципалитетов.

Ключевые слова: доходы муниципалитетов, плата за предоставление услуг, межправительственные трансферты, опыт Канады

Несмотря на своеобразие англо-саксонской модели местного самоуправления, и в том числе ее канадской вариации, осуществление местного самоуправления в Канаде привлекает внимание европейских исследователей [1]. Равным образом европейский опыт местного самоуправления вызывает интерес у канадских специалистов, что выражается в проведении сравнительных исследований.

В 1998 году Федерация муниципалитетов Канады разработала ряд целей-принципов, которых должны добиваться муниципалитеты в отстаивании своих интересов. Многие из этих принципов, включая финансовую самодостаточность, по существу, совпадают с принципами, изложенными в Европейской хартии местного самоуправления. Данное совпадение не является случайным, в резолюции, содержащей принципы, прямо указывается, что при их разработке учитывались положения Европейской хартии [2, с. 8].

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Финансово-экономическое обеспечение деятельности институтов местного самоуправления является важнейшей основой их функционирования. В Канаде к перечню финансовоэкономических основ, помимо имущества и связанных с ним прав, традиционно относятся местные налоги, доходы от предоставления населению услуг и межправительственные трансферты. В значительно меньшей степени речь идет о муниципальных займах, инвестировании и доходах от иной коммерческой деятельности.

Процентное соотношение данных элементов в различных провинциях и территориях разнится, хотя налоги, и прежде всего налог на имущество, составляют основную долю в структуре доходов муниципалитетов. С другой стороны, уже к середине XX века в ряде провинций отмечалось несоответствие налоговых доходов и обязательств муниципальных образований. Так, например, в отчете специального комитета по налогам провинции Онтарио 1967 года [3] указывалось, что с учетом роста обязательств муниципалитетов их зависимость от налога на имущество слишком значительна и необходима диверсификация источников доходов.

Одним их таких источников являются средства от сборов за предоставление услуг населению. По разным оценкам их доля в структуре доходов канадских муниципалитетов достигает чуть более 20 % [4] [5, с. 7]. Несмотря на то, что данный вид доходов муниципалитетов в Канаде имеет давние традиции как среди правотворцев и правоприменителей, так и в научной среде, не прекращается дискуссия относительно как тарифов на предоставляемые муниципалитетами услуги, так и областей их применения.

В англоязычной, включая канадскую, литературе круг оказываемых на местном уровне услуг, по признаку возможности взимания за них платы, принято классифицировать на три категории: общественные (public goods), общественно-значимые

(merit goods) и тарифицируемые (toll goods) [6, с. 276–277]. Об-

щественные услуги относятся к индивидуально нетарифицируе-

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