Of all the municipalities in Montenegro, for now, only Tivat could potentially meet the conditions to receive city status, in accordance with the provisions of the Draft Law on Local Self-Government - "Vijesti" learned from the Government.
In the proposal that the executive branch approved the day before yesterday and which will be sent to parliament for adoption, one of the key innovations is the introduction of the city as a unit of local self-government, which should have a wider range of competencies compared to municipalities.
The explanation of the proposal states that a special law may provide for cities to exercise a wider range of jurisdiction in the areas of education, primary health care, social and child protection, employment...
According to the provisions of the current law, the units of local self-government are municipalities, municipalities within the Capital City (there are no longer any), the Capital City and the Royal Capital.
The draft law, which the editorial team had access to, specifies that a municipality can acquire the status of a city provided that it is an urban, commercial, economic, administrative, cultural, tourist, educational or health center, and that it has administrative capacities (an appropriate organizational structure of bodies and services, a sufficient number of employees with appropriate qualifications, and provided spatial and technical conditions for work) to perform tasks within its jurisdiction and state administration tasks that may be transferred or entrusted to it.
The condition is also that the municipality has a secure transport connection with the surrounding local government units, that at least part of the territory has an urban character and that it meets the criteria from Article 32 of the proposal. It stipulates that the status of a city can be acquired by municipalities whose share of own revenues in total revenues in the last five years is greater than 30 percent, and whose bodies, special, professional and public services have no tax or other debt to the state, continuously for two years before acquiring the status of a city.
A CITY MUST HAVE MORE THAN 10.000 POPULATIONS
The draft law defines that a municipality is the basic form of local self-government in which citizens and local self-government bodies regulate and manage a significant part of public affairs, while a city is a form of local self-government unit that represents an urban, commercial, economic, administrative, cultural, tourist, educational or health center, and has more than 10.000 inhabitants.
In order for a municipality to obtain city status, the procedure is initiated by a decision of the municipal assembly, at the proposal of the mayor or at least a third of the councilors, with the mandatory preparation of a study on the fulfillment of legally prescribed conditions and criteria.
"After submitting the decision and the study, the Ministry (of Public Administration) obtains opinions and data from the competent state administration bodies, and then proposes to the Government the formation of a special commission to assess the fulfillment of the conditions. The commission is composed of representatives of relevant state bodies, the Union of Municipalities, a representative of the local self-government unit that submitted the request, as well as experts from relevant fields, when necessary," the explanatory memorandum to the bill states.
Based on the opinion of the commission, as stated in the explanation, the Government makes a decision on whether the conditions for acquiring the status of a city have been met, and if it assesses that the conditions have been met - it establishes a draft law regulating the territorial organization of Montenegro.
According to the proposal, the statute of the Capital City and a city with more than 50.000 inhabitants may establish one or more city municipalities. "Vijesti" has learned that the government should give the go-ahead for the establishment of city municipalities, after determining that a city, after submitting an initiative for it, meets the prescribed conditions.
A CITIZENS' ASSEMBLY IS BEING INTRODUCED
The document, which "Vijesti" had access to, also prescribes the introduction of citizens' assemblies as a model of deliberative democracy, detailed regulation of citizens' initiatives, petitions and citizens' complaints, as well as the obligation of local administrations to decide on submitted initiatives, recommendations and requests within clearly prescribed deadlines and to inform citizens accordingly.
The Citizens' Assembly is composed of randomly selected citizens residing or staying in the territory of the local self-government unit, with mandatory representation of different social groups, and is convened at least once a year to consider issues important for the development of the local community and make recommendations to local self-government bodies.
The president of the local self-government unit and the assembly are obliged to consider the recommendations of the citizens' assembly within the prescribed deadlines and decide on their acceptance or non-acceptance.
A systemic novelty of the proposal is the establishment of a council for local self-government, to monitor the development of the local self-government system, propose measures for its improvement, strengthen cooperation between local and state authorities, as well as review regulations governing the competencies, rights and obligations of local self-government units.
The Council is established for a period of four years and consists of representatives of local governments, their associations, state bodies and state administration bodies, the Constitutional and Administrative Courts, non-governmental organizations and prominent experts in the field of local government.
The President, members and secretary are entitled to a monthly remuneration for their work, and the Government regulates in more detail the tasks, methods of work, the amount of remuneration and other issues important for the functioning of the Council.
The proposal stipulates that the Local Self-Government Council shall establish thematic networks in key administrative areas, and, if necessary, in other areas. Thematic networks shall bring together representatives of all local self-government units and competent state bodies to discuss common issues, provide proposals for the drafting of laws, by-laws and strategic documents, exchange information on the implementation of regulations and public policies, and exchange good practices.
Members of thematic networks are entitled to a monthly fee, and the Government regulates the method of work, the amount of the fee, and other issues important for their functioning.
INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR MONITORING THE WORK OF MUNICIPALITIES
As a special novelty in the proposal, forms of inter-municipal cooperation are regulated more precisely, including the possibility of establishing joint bodies and services, establishing joint companies and institutions, joint participation in projects, as well as other forms of functional connection of local self-government units.
It is envisaged that local self-government units may voluntarily cooperate, pool resources and jointly perform tasks within their jurisdiction in order to more efficiently meet the needs of the local population.
They can establish associations at the level of Montenegro, cooperate with local communities and organizations from other countries, and join regional and international organizations of local authorities.
Mutual cooperation is achieved through joint bodies, services, institutions, companies, projects or other legally permitted forms, based on a written agreement that regulates the rights, obligations, organization, financing and responsibility of the participants.
Another novelty is the introduction of digital transformation of local government and the establishment of an information system for monitoring the work of municipalities.
It is specified that the Ministry (of Public Administration) establishes an information system for monitoring the work of local self-government, for the purpose of more efficient performance of tasks, monitoring the situation in the area of local self-government and exercising at the local level the competences of state administration bodies in the administrative areas for which they were established.
The information system is used to submit data, documents, reports and other information that local self-government units are obliged to submit to state administration bodies.
This, as explained, applies in particular to the submission of reports on the performance of delegated or entrusted tasks, reports on the application of laws and other regulations at the local level, data on the adoption and implementation of development, planning and strategic documents and other documents within the jurisdiction of the local self-government unit, at the request of state administration bodies.
They will form European integration services.
The proposal also envisages the establishment of European integration services in local governments and information and communication technology (IT) services.
The document, which "Vijesti" had access to, specifies that the European Integration Service prepares and manages projects financed from EU funds, coordinates European integration activities with local and state authorities, monitors funding opportunities, prepares reports on the implementation of projects, and promotes European integration for the economic and social development of local self-government.
It is envisaged that the local government unit will have an information and communication technology service, which manages IT infrastructure, implements projects in the field of information technology, develops electronic services and provides technical support to local government bodies.
Supervision of the legality and efficiency of the work of these services is carried out by the president of the local self-government unit.
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