TRAVEL REPORT The Hon. Michael Atkinson MP Attorney-General ...

We learnt that there are 193 Municipalities, some with less than 5,000people . It was not considered to be unusual to have such small municipalitiesas this was the norm by European standards . France has 36,000municipalities, some without any inhabitants . The result is local governmentbeing much closer to the people and increases participation . The corefunctions provided by the municipalities are the same, from the smallest, with350 inhabitants, to the largest, the capital of Ljubljana . The majority of mayorsare full-time professionals .Amalgamation is a very sensitive political issue ; voluntary associationbetween municipalities has been encouraged, so that they can undertake theprovision of some basic services together such as in the areas of water supplyand waste disposal, however, this is not a commonly accepted concept as yetand was still at the development stage .Municipalities have their own sources of income and also receive an allocationin the State budget. The main source of revenue is tax, which accounts for70% - 95% of revenue . The State levies income tax, of which 65% is held bythe State and the other 35%, is distributed to local communities .The municipalities levy a property tax . The Government sets the frameworkwithin which the tax is levied by the municipalities . The intention was tocreate competition, but it has not happened . Local communities are able tolevy other taxes, but because these taxes are so small, they are of littlesignificance . If the municipality does not raise enough revenue, there is aprocess of financial equalisation, based on a per capita formula .The procedure to introduce regional governance is at the present beforeparliamentary committees . The main reason for political impetus was theawareness of the Government that the current system is not working . Thispresent Government pushed the proposal in the Parliament where two tothree months ago it failed . This proposal sought to address the increasingdifferences between the regions . A two-thirds majority is required to effectConstitutional change and the proposal was only one or two votes short of the60 required . In general, Parliament does not relinquish any power easily, butthe current government has indicated its serious intentions to pursue thisreform . The municipalities also opposed the proposal, for fear of loss ofautonomy and greater control .Slovenia signed the European Charter on Local Government . In principle, allmunicipalities have the same core functions . One of the key principals is thatState must provide funds when it devolves functions .Ms Prasnikar said that despite 45 years of Totalitarianism, Slovenia has noproblems attracting volunteers willing to serve in local government . There are750 candidates for 193 mayoral positions and 10000 candidates for thepositions of councillor . There remains the problem of attracting both youngand female candidates, especially in smaller local communities andmunicipalities are trying to encourage their participation . Only 11% of electedTravel Report, Hon. Michael Atkinson, MP. and Ms. Vini Ciccarello MP., August, 2004 27