The Ministry of Public Administration (MPA) yesterday warned three municipalities that have not appointed vice-presidents that ignoring recommendations in this regard may lead to increased supervision, a formal warning, and if the conditions are met, the strictest measures - dismissal of the municipal president or dissolution of the local assembly.
After monitoring the implementation of the Law on Local Self-Government (Article 58), the Ministry announced yesterday that Budva, Plav and Plužine had not appointed their deputy mayors. Therefore, they ordered these three municipalities to act urgently and appoint them by March 2nd.
While Budva and Pluzine say that appointing a vice president is not an imperative obligation, but rather a possibility provided for by law, the Ministry told "Vijesti" that "the obligation of the municipal president to appoint a vice president has an imperative character."
From the department headed by the minister Marash Dukaj They explained that the Law on Local Self-Government (Article 58, paragraph 1, item 8) stipulates that the mayor appoints and dismisses the vice-mayor with the consent of the assembly, while another provision of the same regulation (Article 67) stipulates that a municipality has a maximum of two vice-mayors.
"It clearly follows from the aforementioned legal provisions that the law does not leave room for discretionary decisions on whether a vice president will be appointed, but rather stipulates the obligation of the mayor to ensure that this position is filled, while respecting the procedure prescribed by law," the Ministry emphasized.
President of the Municipality of Plav Nihad Canović He told "Vijesti" yesterday that they had received the MPA report, announcing that they would comply with the law and appoint a vice president.
"We have not named it so far due to cost rationalization... We thought it would be better to allocate that amount to development projects," he said.
Canović also announced that the deadline given to them for appointing a vice president is very short, but that they will strive to complete the work by March 2nd.
The first man of Pluzine Slobodan Delic He told the editorial staff that they "did not receive anything" from the Ministry and that they learned about the findings of their oversight from the media.
"We believe that this provision - that we must appoint a vice president - is not an imperative duty," he said, adding that he is certain that in the last 15 years the municipality he manages has not had a vice president, but that they have never received any letter stating that they must appoint one.
As he claims, they are now "in a big problem" because the local budget for this year has already been planned.
"We will accept and analyze the (MPA) interpretation, and we will not violate the law," Delić added.
When it comes to Budva, several sources of "Vijesti" said that the head of that municipality Nikola Jovanovic has not yet determined who will be appointed as vice president.
The Ministry's position is not being commented on for now, but the Municipality has indicated to the editorial staff that "vice presidents are a possibility, not an imperative obligation."
Although he was elected president of Budva a year ago, Jovanović has not yet appointed vice presidents, and the allegedly unfulfilled promise of one seat for the Civic Movement (GP) URA has contributed to the disagreement between that party and Jovanović's "Budva our city" group.
By appointing the vice president, Jovanović could further strengthen the ruling majority in Budva (his group, the European Alliance and the Democratic Party of Socialists), win over the breakaway part of the GP URA or offer a seat to the Europe Now Movement, whose vote, along with that of the Movement for Changes, was crucial for the adoption of the budget.
The fact that no vice presidents have been appointed in Budva was recently raised by the New Serbian Democracy, assessing that it is "a direct violation of the imperative norm of the law."
Budva already suffered from the failure to appoint a vice president when he governed the city. Milo BozovicAfter his arrest in April 2023, and for the next full year and a half, until Jasna Dokić She was not appointed as vice president, all documents were taken to the Supka Remand Prison for Božović to sign.
The election of a vice president was one of the conditions set by the Ministry of Public Administration that Budva had to fulfill, so that the government would not impose compulsory administration on it.
The Ministry told "Vijesti" yesterday that the Law on Local Self-Government must be interpreted systematically and in accordance with the purpose of the norm. The legal nature of the function of the deputy mayor is, as they said, both substitutive and operational, since he performs tasks within the competence of the mayor in the event of his absence or inability to act, as well as other tasks entrusted to him by the mayor.
"In this sense, the appointment of a vice-president represents an important mechanism for ensuring continuity in the performance of the executive function and the smooth functioning of the executive body of local self-government, thus preventing the occurrence of an institutional blockade or a gap in the performance of the competence of the mayor, which was the case in some municipalities," they stated.
In relation to the possible consequences of not acting on the recommendations, they point out that the role of the Ministry is primarily preventive and is reflected in performing administrative supervision and issuing recommendations in order to ensure the legality of the work of local self-government bodies.
"If the recommendations are not followed, the Law provides for further monitoring mechanisms, including the Government issuing warnings to the competent local government bodies, and if the legally prescribed conditions are met, procedures for the dismissal of the mayor or the dissolution of the municipal assembly may be initiated, in accordance with the law," the Ministry warned.
According to the Law on Local Self-Government (Article 63), the Government may, upon the proposal of the MPA, dismiss the mayor of a municipality if he fails to perform tasks within his jurisdiction for more than six months - fails to ensure the implementation of laws, the strategic plan for the development of the municipality and other development plans and programs...
This is not the first time that the appointment of a vice president has been controlled.
The Ministry says that they are continuously monitoring the implementation of the Law on Local Self-Government and that this is not the first time that this has been done in relation to the appointment of the deputy mayor of a municipality.
"Also, supervision is carried out regarding the legality of the work of municipal assemblies, the adoption and implementation of acts on internal organization and systematization, the adoption of personnel plans, the implementation of prescribed procedures when making decisions, as well as other issues of importance for the legal functioning of the local self-government system," the MPA said.
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