Post-pandemic Urbanis

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interventions differently. Those of Klixbüll in Schleswig-Holstein and Kirchanschöring in Bavaria, for example, examine the resolutions of their local councils with a view to whether they are fulfilling the criteria of a common good economy. This type of value-orientation has an impact on the budget and thus on particular areas of focus. Willebadessen in North Rhine-Westphalia, on the other hand, reviews all expenditures in light of their impact on youth and children. 154 In a third step, the municipality considers which benchmarks it would like to measure its activities against in the future and the actions that could be taken to achieve its goals. Thus begins a learning process that helps further motivate those who work for the municipal government, whether as full-time employees or volunteers, to pursue the common good, while also creating a compass for the future strategy. At the end, the process yields a report representing the individual values the municipality wants to realize through its actions, how it implements these values in practice, how it uses these values to assess its progress, and what potential for improvement it sees and would like to realize. Ideally, I continue to advise the municipality after the accounting as well. Existing patterns of thinking also certainly come under scrutiny during the workshops. What do you observe there? AB: We talk, for example, about the competition between the municipalities and the regions and about silo mentality, which is to say the purely technical kind of territorial thinking that confines itself to one area, or we talk about fears that might be prompted by community members and their demands for participation. We are seeing that many good decisions are being made but that their implementation often falls short. Ultimately, what matters is the extent to which the municipalities understand themselves to be important actors in a social-ecological transformation. What desires and problems do you encounter in the municipalities in which you work? AB: In the last few years, ever more official duties have devolved to the municipalities. At the same time, there has not been a corresponding increase in the number of positions created in the
155 administration; in fact, they are more likely to have been eliminated. Municipalities in rural areas must furthermore contend with the difficulty of recruiting staff in the face of a shortage of skilled workers; positions frequently remain unfilled for lengthy periods. Municipal administrations have so many tasks to perform that they are not always enthusiastic when a new responsibility places further demands on staff resources and time. At the same time there are inertial tendencies and a certain aversion to deviating from customary and well-practiced procedures. Moreover, there is a lack of competencies with respect to sustainability, for example, in sustainable public procurement. The tendering processes must conform to certain regulatory requirements, which must follow established procedures. By now it is legally possible to implement ecological and social principles for different products and product categories, but often the knowledge about corresponding certifications or criteria catalogs is missing. The administrative arm of municipal self-governance principally performs the function of executing tasks. But it is the political representatives who, generally across party lines, must approve decisions concerning common values and criteria for sustainability. Unfortunately, this quite often proves too difficult. There are, however, many employees in the administration who possess an intrinsic motivation to realize, in their own fields of competency, a sustainable vision and its values to the greatest extent possible. They feel encouraged by their work. Municipal action resembles a patchwork rug composed of issues, plans for intervention, and resolutions. The common good economy provides an umbrella and can activate a municipality’s strategic orientation, fulfilling the wishes of many staff members. Is the COVID-19 <strong>pandemic</strong> altering the ways the municipalities think and act? AB: Many municipalities are currently occupied with implementing constantly changing regulations to protect against infection and the switchover to digital operations. This is not a task for which they were prepared. I think that this will precipitate a rethink of how they operate. Administration is usually organized hierarchically, but this paradigm is breaking apart, and the compulsion to control things is disappearing. Moreover, a drop in tax revenue is in the offing, which will impact municipal budgets. Administrations will
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Post-pandemic Urbanis

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