Dear Readers,

For a year now you had the opportunity to receive the monthly Newsletter published by the Foundation for Local Government Reform. We have tried to be helpful and provide up-to-date information, covering legal, social, economic and management issues of local authorities through the perspective of experts, MPs, representatives of the municipalities and non-profit organizations. With the newsletter we aimed to partially compensate for the lack of information about a number of innovations and improvements that happen constantly under different circumstances in various municipalities. Finally, it is up to you - our readers - to evaluate how successful we were.

1996 laid a great number of challenges before Bulgarian local self-government. The financial and economic crisis caused enormous difficulties for those municipal administrations and councils, mainly dependent on state subsidies and grants. Fiscal decentralization is still a mirage in spite of the largely shared view that it is necessary to provide financial independence to local authorities. It is impossible to talk about self-government under the existing procedures for municipal budgeting and local revenue collection.

The past year convinced all those involved in local self-government that the old, routine methods of local governing will not provide the key to overcoming the crisis and will neither fill municipal budgets nor solve the serious social and economic problems.

Local authorities had to face the challenge to seek new, original approach and solutions and to assume heavy responsibilities without receiving the necessary rights for that. Ways to reach public consensus and partnership in defining and implementing local priorities were sought.

The adoption of the Municipal Property Act (MPA) initiated the implementation of the most essential part of the reform in local self-government. The MPA along with the Municipal Finance Act and the Local Taxes and Fees Act will be the decisive step forward to financial decentralization and stabilization of municipalities, clearly determining and distributing the power and responsibilities between central and local authorities. The set of required local ordinances which had to be adopted by municipal councils, according to the MPA and the regulations for its implementation, give the opportunity for applying the principles of objectivity, transparency and efficiency in municipal property management.

The challenges of our time also prompted other achievements in the field of the local self-government. The necessity for associating municipalities at the national level was realized. The two fundamental principles of the European Chart on Local Self-Government, defining the right of local authorities to associate in order to protect and develop their common interests, to take part in timely and proper consultations throughout the planning and decision making on all issues which directly concern them, have the chance to find real application in our country.

162 municipalities with different political majorities founded in December 1996 the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria (NAMRB). New member municipalities still continue to join the association. It is expected that the association will become a well respected partner of central government and the Parliament, expressing and defending local government s interests. NAMRB representatives will participate in the budget discussions and in drafting bills and regulations concerning local self-government.

The regional associations of municipalities expanded their activities and two new associations are in the process of registering.

An encouraging factor for associating of municipalities played the international conference on the Role and Structure of the National Associations of Local Authorities, organized by the Council of Europe and the Foundation for Local Government Reform in Sofia in November 1996.

As a non-governmental organization aiming at encouraging the establishment of strong local self-government with adequate rights and responsibilities and improving public understanding of its role and importance, Foundation for Local Government Reform organized a series of seminars in different regions in the country on the following topics: Seminars for Newly Elected Mayors, Chairmen of Municipal Councils and Councilors; Local Economic Development; Municipal Media and Public Relations Policy and Implementation of the Newly Adopted Municipal Property Act. Information brochures including Bulgarian and international experience in the above areas were also published by the foundation.

The FLGR is looking for new possibilities for beneficial cooperation with the regional associations and the recently established national association, supports the municipalities in the process of twinning, creates database and conduct surveys aiming to establishing the real needs of the municipalities.

The FLGR published Municipal Property Law - Commentary and Regulations as a first book of a series dedicated to the issues relating to the local self-government and distributed it free of charge to all municipalities, regions and larger mayoralties. The commentary and the regulations published as a model have been appreciated by many municipalities as very useful and timely support.

The brochure Local Government in Bulgaria - History of the Union of Bulgarian Towns 1925 - 1944 is the first in its kind edition which reflects the tradition of interaction of local authorities in Bulgaria both among themselves and with the international community.

We believe that through our Newsletter The Reform in Local Self-Government we succeeded to cover legal, social, economic and management issues of local authorities, new initiatives in the field of economic development, successful projects of non-profit organizations encouraging citizens participation in local self-government. Our ambition is to deliver effective assistance by providing information and promoting best practice and successful approaches. That depends to a great extent on you, dear readers, your willingness to share experience or raise important issues for discussion. We remain open to your suggestions and initiatives which would result in improving local self-government in Bulgaria.

We express our deepest gratitude to the Democracy Commission of the US Embassy which supported the newsletter during 1996 and its first three issues this year. We hope that also in 1997 the newsletter will be a useful and welcome periodical for everyone involved in local self-government.

The past year was a difficult one for local self-government in Bulgaria but it is unlikely that the current year will be easier especially under the currency board.

I wish to all of us resourcefulness and decisiveness when dealing with the forthcoming difficulties, as well as good public support of local authority efforts.

Ginka Kapitanova,

Executive Director, Foundation for Local Government Reform