3.3 Local and district municipality administration

Local administration is carried out by the local self-government. District (regional) administration is carried out by the district self-government. They ensure the implementation of functions stated by the law as well as tasks and delegated functions of the Cabinet of Ministers and voluntarily initiatives with the mediation of citizen elected representative - council - and its elaborated institutions observing state and interests of the inhabitants of the respective administrative territory. Realizing local and district (regional) administration municipalities are subject of the public law in the framework of the municipality law but in private law municipalities have rights of the legal person. In the framework of public law municipalities have by the law determined functions and initiative implemented autonomous functions, delegated state administration functions, functions of other municipalities which have been passed to the respective municipality and administration tasks which state administration has given to the municipalities.

Municipalities are self dependant carrying out the activities within their competence as stated by the law. They are responsible for the work of the institutions developed by them if it is not stated otherwise by law. Implementing state delegated functions and administration tasks the municipality represents the Republic of Latvia and is under control of the Cabinet of Ministers. In Latvia state and municipality institutions which mostly are autonomous for the state administration purpose cooperate and harmonize interests, this process is coordinated by Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments in its negotiations with ministries.

The municipality work is supervised by the Ministry of Regional Development and Local Governments. State administration institutions and officials which control legality of the municipalities' activities as stated by the law have to inform the Ministry of Regional Development and Local Governments if municipality council, its chairman, its deputy chairman, as well as the other institutions default or exceed the Constitution, law, rules of the Cabinet of Ministers or sentences by the court.

The district council consists of all district's parish council (pagasta padome) chairmen, amalgamated council (novada padome) chairmen and town council (pilsētas dome) chairmen. The administrative territories of the largest seven cites or republic cities (republikas pilsēta) are not part of any district territory but its chairman can be participant of the district council if the republic city council and the respective district council have made such a decision.

The district council organizes the implementation of district self-government's functions and delegated functions of the local self-governments, as well as the in the cases stated by the law carries out duties which are connected with education, health care, social care and cultural institutions' activities at local municipalities level and gives  to these institutions methodical assistance. The executive director appointed by the council ensures the implementation of district municipality's functions and work of the district council in accordance with district council's decisions as well as the preparation of the year public report and publishing of the note regarding it. The executive director is responsible for the work the municipality institutions and as it is stated by the statutes of the council. The district council has to confirm its statutes, budget, year public report, binding rules, district social and economic development plan and spatial development plan; district social and economic development and environment protection perspective programmes; it can give proposals and resolutions for the change of the name or symbol; decide regarding the council's chairman, executive director, municipality institutions, their directors and other officials, property as well as to impose municipality duties and commission for services.

The elected decision - making body of the local municipality is council. (Chapter: Municipality Elections).

Amalgamated self-governments (novadu pašvaldības) which are established in the framework of the territorial reform by joining together of several local authorities (rural parishes and towns), each becomes a territorial unit of the new amalgamated municipality but there is only one decision - making body in the county - directly elected amalgamated self-government's council. Establishing the amalgamated self-government in the period between elections all the deputies of the former local municipalities become deputies of the new amalgamated municipality's council till the forthcoming elections.

The elected council elects, by secret ballots, the chairman who is the head of the local municipality. In his direct control act the executive director and other officials who are also elected by the municipal council. The work of the council is organized in the meetings and regular committees. Every council to prepare the questions for the joint sessions develops regular deputy committees. Law determines that every municipality has to have at least three regular committees - finance, social and education and culture committees. If at least one fourth of the inhabitants registered in the administrative territory of the respective municipality are foreigners and stateless person the local municipality council can develop foreigner and stateless person committee. Other committees can be developed taking into the account needs of the respective local municipality and its statutes. There should definitely act an inspection committee in every municipality. The number of the committee's members cannot be less than three and it cannot exceed half of the number of the council's deputies, exception is the finance committee. Each deputy has to be a member of at least one committee.

The council has rights to make decisions regarding all the issues which are in its competence and ask the chairman or executive institutions implementation of them. The council has rights to issue binding rules (by-laws), envisaging administrative responsibility for their violation. In the largest municipalities the executive institutions might be complicated with hundreds of employees while deputies of the most rural local municipalities fulfil also the obligations of the officials. In the municipalities where number of inhabitants is less than 5 thousand the council chairman can fulfil also the obligations of the executive director, in other case these positions cannot be combined. In the case the council is changed the executive director ensures the regularity of work of the municipality institutions and companies. All decisions are taken at the council's meetings which are open, also the committee sessions are open - all inhabitants, journalists are able to take part in these meetings, get acquainted with the protocols, budget and decisions of the officials.

The organization and structure of the concrete municipality is stated in the statutes of the respective municipality. The statutes are confirmed by the council. It is also regulated by the Law "On the municipalities", which determines authority and activity regulation of the council. To ensure the accessibility of the municipality's services in those local centres which are not the administrative centres of the municipality the service centre has to be developed by the municipality. The centre provides with information, accepts applications, claims and proposals regarding the issues which are in the competence of the municipality; accepts payments and pays out social benefit and also registers civil registration records.

The economic basis of the municipality is property, including finance resources which are formed of tax payments and local duties for municipality budget, state budget subsidies and special purpose grants, credits; proceeds of administration of municipality property and economic activity of institutions, voluntary payments of physical and legal person for the specific objectives. The activities and decisions of the council have to be maximum expedient. The municipality administrates and uses its property as it is stated by the law and this property is detached from the state and other legal entity property. The municipality property can be used for needs of inhabitants of the respective administrative territory, whether for public usage (roads, streets, fields, parks), whether developing municipality institutions and companies, which ensure rights of inhabitants and supply the necessary services (administration institutions, social and health care, education, culture and other institutions).

Municipalities can agree to delegate specific functions to each other if there is an agreement on financing of the implementation of these functions. The council which has this duty stated by the law is the responsible body for the implementation of the functions and supervises this process. The local authorities' councils can delegate the district council and the district council can delegate the local authorities' councils the implementation of functions determining financing order if all municipalities of the respective district have agreed on that. The functions which are exclusively in the competence of the respective municipality cannot be delegated, for example, to confirm the municipality statutes, binding rules and budget, economic and year public report; municipality territory development programme and the spatial plan; municipality economic and social development and environment protection perspective programmes; territorial division of municipalities and its administration structure; to decide regarding the municipality property and infrastructure utilization, usage of pre-emptive right, liquidation of the respective administrative territory, change in its boarders, name, symbol and other place names; to decide regarding the council's chairman, executive director, municipality institutions and services and officials as well as regarding assessors, chairmen  and members of the parish court and family court. On the possibility to take part in municipality decision making process please find chapter Public Participation.

 

Number of inhabitants

Number of municipalities

Percentage of total municipality number

Number of inhabitants

Percentage of total number of inhabitants

Less than 1000

188

35,1

138 064

5,9

1000 - 1999

205

38,2

290 533

12,5

2000 - 2999

58

10,8

141 020

6,1

3000 - 3999

17

3,2

59 753

2,6

4000 - 4999

15

2,8

64 760

2,8

5000 and more

53

9,9

1 625 073

70,1

Total

536

100

2 319 203

100

Table I.3.2: Groups of municipalities in accordance with number of inhabitants (data of 1 January 2004), (Vanags un Vilka, 2005)

Municipality functions' group (mode)

Legal basis of functions

Responsible for implementation

Financing resources

1.Obligatory functions

 

 

 

1.1. Regular

Law „On self-Governments"

Municipality

Municipality budget

1.2. Temporary delegated functions

Other laws

Municipality

Additional financing resources are determined by the law

1.3. State administration functions

Laws or rules of the Cabinet of Ministers

State administration institution, which has delegated the respective function to the municipality

State administration institution's budget

1.4. Extraordinary tasks

Decision (order) of the Cabinet of Ministers

Municipality

The Cabinet of Ministers or municipality budget

2. Functions of the competence of other municipalities

Agreement between municipalities

Municipality, which has delegated the respective function to the other municipality

Financing resource has to be determined in the agreement

3. Voluntary functions (initiatives)

Decision of the municipality council

Municipality

Municipality budget

Table I.3.1: Municipality functions' groups (source: Vanags un Krastiņš, 2005)

 

 

Figure I.3.2: Municipality standard structure

 

In Latvia the regional administration functions are carried out by 33 administrative units, 26 of them are district municipalities which comprises more than ten parishes, 7 of them are large city municipalities or the republic level cities which implement both regional and local self-government functions. The average number of inhabitants in districts is 47 thousand and the average area is 2640 km2. The number of inhabitants in districts ranges from 13 thousand in Ventspils district to 147 thousand in Riga district. The district area ranges from 1604 km2 (Jelgava district) to 3594 km2 (Liepaja district).

The local authority functions are carried out by 527 municipalities including cities, which have functions of two tiers, 53 district town self-governments, 432 parish or rural local self-governments and 35 amalgamated self-governments which have been under the reform - their territory has been increased in accordance with the Law of Administrative Territorial Reform of 1998. The amalgamated municipalities often consist of both town and rural territories. The internal administrative division, local centres and place names of the counties reserve the previous division, the statistic information can be also found about the former administrative division units. The law envisages that the administrative territorial reform of local authorities has to be realized till the municipality elections in 2009. Since 1998 the number of the municipalities has decreased for approximately 80 units in the result of voluntarily uniting.

On average there are 4,3 thousand inhabitants in the municipality, including 1,6 thousand inhabitants in parish self-governments (data of 2004). There are less than 2 thousand inhabitants in 70% of all municipalities and these are 18,5 % of all inhabitants of Latvia, but 70% of inhabitants live in municipalities where the number of inhabitants is more than 5 thousand. The largest municipality id Riga City with 727 578 inhabitants and the smallest is Kalncempju Parish Municipality in Aluksne District with 281 inhabitants (data of the beginning of 2006). The areas of municipalities range from 22,3 km2 (Lazdona Parish in Madona District) to 554 km2 (Dundaga Parish in Talsu District). Despite these facts the competence of the municipalities is equal as it is stated by the law and all of them have to ensure organization and supervision of the obligatory functions, the law provides opportunity to delegate these functions to other municipalities.

Nongovernmental organization "Latvian Association of Regional and Local Governments", which members are municipalities, represents municipality interests and rights in negotiations with the central government of Latvia.

 

Figure I.3.3: Municipalities in Latvia (arrow - direct election, in brackets total number of the municipalities of 12.04.2007)

 

Relevant legislative documents and institutions

Law "On Self-Governments" (adopted 19.05.1994), link to text in English: www.ttc.lv/index.php?&id=10&tid=59&l=LV&seid=down&itid=13757

Municipality binding rules, link to text in Latvian: www.raplm.gov.lv/lat/noteikumi/

Administrative Territorial Reform Law (adopted 21.10.1998), link to the text in English: www.ttc.lv/index.php?&id=10&tid=59&l=LV&seid=down&itid=14879

Ministry of Regional Development and Local Governments www.raplm.gov.lv

Latvian Association of Regional and Local Governments www.lps.lv

Latvian Association of Large cities www.llpa.lv

Alliance of Latvian Towns www.lps.ogre.lv

Rules of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 585 „Order, how the Cabinet of Ministers coordinates issues with municipalities, regarding the interests of municipalities" (adopted 07.06.2004), link to the text in Latvian: www.raplm.gov.lv/files/text/kartiba_pasv_intereses.doc