The Bavarian Ministry of the Interior - Municipal Affairs

augsburg city hall

Municipalities - efficiency decentralized

For us, municipalities come first because they care directly for the fabric of society - from kindergarten to highway

People whose commitment goes beyond the mere call of duty are the life blood of a community. And the Bavarian municipalities, that is, the 2,056 market boroughs, towns and cities, the 71 counties and 7 administrative regions, would be nowhere near as vigorous without such commitment. The municipalities and their elected representatives need secured finances and the legal flexibility that self-government requires. That is why almost one in every five Euros from state finances goes directly to the municipalities - a total of EUR 7.4 billion in 2003. New rules are enabling the municipalities to test out state-of-the-art models for controlling budget, organizational and administrative procedures.

The Ministry of the Interior also oversees the local elections. In 2002, almost all of the 40,000 representatives of Bavarian municipalities were newly elected for a six-year term. For the second time, EU citizens were also allowed to take part.

The relationship between the State and the municipalities is marked by a spirit of trust and forthright cooperation creating an atmosphere that has enabled us to dispense with callbacks and to cut down on restrictive submission and approval procedures. Most importantly, the local representatives have a say in shaping their communities.

Conditions like this make people more prepared and willing to accept responsibility. They encourage ideas for finding ways to solve local problems, leaving little room for frustration to build up on account of political disaffection.