Local organs

Organs of the municipality

The municipality is authorized to act as a legal entity only by organs. In the German Gemeindeordnungen a binaryistic system of two central organs developed - the local council (also: Local council, city agency) and the mayor (in Hessen: Municipal authorities).

The local council is the representative government, which resemble from general, free, direct and secret elections to have come out must. The Lands of the Federal Republic have own in each case local election systems, which regulate the composition and the choice procedure (see also local election law. The local council is not parliament in the state-legal sense, but organ of the administration. The fundamental decisions of the municipality are incumbent on the local council. All German Gemeindeordnungen plan decision reservations of the local councils, which cannot be delegated to other organs.

Second central executive body is a mayor (in circle-free cities: Mayor), who leads the administration in most Lands of the Federal Republic, resolutions of the local council implements, mostly the presidency in the local council leads and the municipality outward represented. The authority and the choice principles and choice times yield in the Lands of the Federal Republic substantially from each other off (see Gemeindeverfassungen). In all Lands of the Federal Republic except in Hessen the administrative line is structured monokratisch, i.e. the respective office holder acts alone. In Hessen this task that is incumbent on collegial out-arranged municipal authorities as a Gemeindevorstand; Decisions can be made there only together (collegial principle).

Organs of further local federations

According to the municipalities have also the circles/district, higher local federations, the the central administrative bodies and green belt federations a central representative government and one monokratisch or collegial organized administrative line. In addition further organs can step, which are representative government-formed mostly from the respective:

• District/circle: Kreistag - director of land advice/upper circle - further committee: Circle committee;
• Landscape federation: Landscape meeting - director of the landscape federation - further committee: Landscape committee;
• Zweckverband (local co-operation): Purpose federation meeting - purpose federation chiefs;
• Central administrative body: Community meeting - community chairmen
• Integrated municipality: Integrated municipality advice - integrated municipality citizenry - further committee: Integrated municipality committee

Local committees

For the discharge of the local council advisory or terminal committees can be educated. The committees do not have an own organ position. In principle the local council is free with the education of the committees; the Gemeindeordnungen plan the education of obligation committees.

Advisers and commissions

For the completion of certain questions commissions and advisers can be educated mostly voluntarily in all Lands of the Federal Republic. These knew mostly only hearing rights and for the local council recommendations to compile. Partially advisers and commissions in the Gemeindeordnungen are expressly planned (in almost all Lands of the Federal Republic the education of a foreigner adviser is prescribed).

Local parliamentary groups

Similarly politically gesinnte members of a local council can unite to the national parliaments to a parliamentary group equal. Usually the parliamentary groups consist of members of a political party or a The Gemeindeordnung, the main statute of the municipality or the agenda (in form of a statute) can plan a minimum number of members for the education of a parliamentary group, which the parliamentary group status is connected with special rights often.

District condition and locality condition

In all Gemeindeordnungen a freiwillige and/or a compelling organization of the city in districts and/or localities with respective quarter agencies is intended, in order to make because of a stronger interior arrangement of more citizens the participation possible in the local government policy. Also in the context of the local reorganisation local councils were omitted, so that the quarter agencies are to guarantee the protection of interests of the former municipalities. These agencies have own decision and/or hearing rights, must however at the general defaults of the local council orient itself.

• In Baden-Wuerttemberg: District adviser, locality advice,
• in Bavaria: District committee,
• in Hessen: Local adviser,
• Lower Saxony: Urban district advice,
• North-Rhine/Westphalia: District agency),
• Saxonia: Locality advice.

Municipal constitution controversy

Disputes between and within the local organs over the legal standard of a measure are decided in the municipal constitution controversy before the responsible Administrative Court.

Local law-making sovereignty

The municipalities are justified in their sphere of activity to regulate their affairs by statute (see law-making sovereignty). Important statutes are the main statute, the development plan, business regulations. The decree of statutes is bound to special formal requirements (notices given in summons, publication,"…), which must be considered, so that a statute can unfold external effect.

For the internal operational sequences the advice (local council, town council - depending upon Land of the Federal Republic) can issue an agenda. An agenda can usually take place in the form of a simple resolution, it is, it regulates contents with external effect such as payments of compensation o.

Local household economy

Under the local autonomy also the right of the own household sovereignty falls. That means that the municipalities may decide on their financial affairs themselves. This right is out-arranged in the Gemeindeordnung and the respective land municipal budget regulation and/or municipality cash regulation closer. The respective budget is set up by the administration by the treasurer of the municipality and decided by the advice. In practice it comes here between the municipalities and the countries to disputes, since the municipalities for the tasks in the transferred sphere of activity are not equipped with sufficient moneys and less and less money for the own sphere of activity remains. The municipalities are financed by own incomes (local rates, like taxes, fees and contributions) as well as by assignments other public carriers, essentially the respective Land of the Federal Republic (see local financial adjustment).

Local audit

According to the local household sovereignty the execution of the local budget the legal and economic use of the means is examined by directly the advice responsible person of audit offices.

Local enterprises and mechanisms

For the implementation of the tasks are the municipalities authorizes local enterprises or mechanisms to operate (e.g. public utilities, swimming pools These mechanisms are to be used only in the limited extent, in order not to displace to the inadmissible extent private-economical competition or to prevent the development from trade to. The validity results from the respective Gemeindeordnungen. If the municipality does not fulfill the economic manipulation by its offices, you are available the following public and/or private legals form: The public utility, the own establishment and the institute of the public right as public and the GmbH and/or the corporation as legals form under private law.

Possible also a co-operation is more natural over local borders away and/or the participation (see Public private Partnership (PPP)) or legal entities of private law. The advice send representatives into the respective supervisory boards of the enterprises and societies. For the 90's there is an intensified tendency to page local tasks of core out on local enterprises and/or local societies.

Supervision of local

The municipalities act not in the right-free area but are subject to the supervision of the state. The own sphere of activity this supervision of local is limited to the observance of right and law (legal supervision). In the transferred sphere of activity also appropriateness control specialized supervision steps apart from the legal supervision. The supervision of local is noticed over circle-belonging municipalities by the districts, over circle-free cities by the respective state support authority district government and/or district administration.

Literature

• Alfons gladly, German local legislation, 2003. ISBN 3-8329-0127-2
• Hofmann/Muth/Theisen, local legislation in North-Rhine/Westphalia, 12. Edition, 2004, 567 sides, [ISBN 3-933870-47-X], publishing house Bernhardt Witten
• Gerhard Bennemann, franc Brodbeck, Uwe Daneke, Rudolf Beinlich, Arnulf Simon, Ernst Meiss, Sven Teschke, walter Unger, Stefan Zahradnik, Michael Borchmann, Wolfgang beautiful, Dieter: Municipal constitution law Hessen, 1999. ISBN 3-8293-0222-3

Related links

• The local forum
• Thesis (diploma) to the municipal administration (Acrobat Reader requires) ''

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