Local authorities in Germany

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Local authorities in Germany
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Introduction

• A long tradition of local autonomy
• A rupture from the Nazi era to the cold war
• Reunification and globalisation of the German
  decentralisation

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The federalism born from the fundamental law

• A short review of the territory
• The local institutional network
• The federal state

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Part 1. The local system and the decentralization
process

• Overview of the institutional system
• Foreword  notions of federalism and
  decentralization

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The local federal authorities

• The 16 Länder
• The Bundesrat

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The decentralized authorities

• The Kreise
• The Gemeinden
• The council
• The magistrate

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II. Competences in practice

• The local action a mixture of decentralization
  and federalism
• The municipalities
• Mandatory competences
• Optional competences

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The local action a mixture of decentralization
and federalism

• The Kreis
• The Länders intervention
• Grades conflicts

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The means of action 

• The fiscal receipts
• The double equalization
• The tax levy
• The administration

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The reform of 2006 and its consequences

• A clarification of the competences
• A new tax receipt repartition
• The fears and exceptions before the reform

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Part 2. The local participative democracy

• Historical and ideological context
• A representative democracy established by the
  fundamental law
• The success of the citizen movements in former
  GDR underlines the necessity of direct
  participation after the reunification
• The birth of the New Public Management in the
  1980s
• An institutional system favourable to the
  participative democracys development

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I. The juridical tools

• The local referendum or Bürgerbegehren
• A consultation organized by request of the
  citizens
• Questions submitted to referendum that vary
  depending on the community codes
• Decisions resulting of referendums that have the
  same value as the municipality decrees
• A possible judiciary appeal in case of
  non-application by the municipality of decisions
  taken by referendum

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• 2) The citizens requests The Bürgerantrag
• A mecanism between the referendum and the
  petition
• The possibility for the citizen to ask to the
  municipality council to take care of a specific
  matter
• A request that require the approval of a minimal
  number of citizens

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• 3) The assemblies or Bürgerversammlung
• The regular sitting of citizens assemblies that
  could make propositions
• Examination of the municipalitys affairs by the
  citizens
• Obligation of such a sitting once a year if asked
  by at least 10 of the citizens
• The questions and answers or Einwohnerfragestunde
  The citizens can ask questions during public
  sessions of the municipality council

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• 4) The districts councils and the juries of
  citizens
• a. The districts councils or Ortsbeiräte
• Election of citizens for the same duration as the
  citys council
• The option to make propositions about the
  districts affairs
• b. The Berliner juries of citizens
• A mixed composition (citizens/civil society) but
  an exclusive participation by the districts
  citizens
• A voluntary participation and the indemnity to
  this participation
• The funds of these authorities allotted to
  support locals initiatives in the district

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II. The local participative democracy in practice

• A tool in practice the berliner citizens
  juries
• a. Assessment
• Real leway and ressources granted by authorities
• Flexible procedures that allowed involment of
  residents
• Priority given by residents to social
  infrastructure and cultural projects and to small
  projects

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• b. Limits
• Discussions behind closed doors
• Local micro-initiatives
• Budgetary resources too ambitious because of the
  precarious financial position of the city of
  Berlin
• Lack of political dimension the inhabitants'
  managers' and non-citizens
• Experience renewed and expanded despite criticism
• Institutionalization of a new decision amending
  the territorial balance

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2) Citizen participation in the framework of the
European programm Urban

• The same European and German will to promote the
  involvement at the local level through the
  management area
• A program for sustainable urban development a
  decline in inequality, economic recovery of
  priority areas and consideration of environmental
  issues
• Some people associated with three levels of
  representation within the decision-making body
  within the work teams, and at the assembling of
  projects (funding for projects from residents)

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Conclusion

• A German institutional system supports local
  participation (federalism, subsidiarity)
• Heterogeneity of local contexts conducive to
  experimentation in terms of participatory
  democracy
• Experiments (citizen juries) that make the tools
  "traditional" (referendum) obsolete
• A new form of governance Towards democratic
  local neighborhood?
• What possible export of German model?