Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.21861/HGG.2014.76.01.02
Administrative Reform as a Tool in Fighting Communal Marginality
Walter Zsilincsar
; University of Graz, Austria
Abstract
The topic presented might – at first glance - seem to be too regionally focused but is in fact deeply rooted in the present EU and the worldwide economic and financial crisis, reaching far beyond Austria’s borders. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 Austrian communities of a total of 2,358 (1998) have failed to achieve a balanced communal budget. The reasons for this unpleasant situation are manifold and, as the recent national and international banking scandals have shown, they have even been caused by criminal activities (high-risk speculations, corruption, etc.), the lack in skills and qualifications of party-politicians, nepotism, etc. All these failures have evoked broad interest in Austria’s mass-media for more than two years now. However, we must not forget that there are a lot of other reasons, structural in nature, for the financial crisis of so many Austrian communities. Among these structural reasons, one must first mention the small size of the majority of Austria’s communes. More than one quarter of them have less than 1,000 inhabitants, and there are still many with below 500 citizens. In such small communities administration is simply inefficient. Another reason for the communal crisis must be seen in various prestige projects (sports grounds, spas, etc.) but also in the costs of maintenance and administration of hospitals, schools, kindergartens, fire brigades, etc.), and in the support and subvention of other social institutions. The paper discusses administrative reform as one tool in fighting against the present communal crisis, which quite often ends up in communal marginality.
Keywords
administrative reform; communal marginality; structural reform; financial crisis; fusion; Austria
Hrčak ID:
126242
URI
Publication date:
1.8.2014.
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