Download The local power in Lithuania

Local Government
in Lithuania
The Republic of Lithuania
 Area: 65 000 km²
 Population: 3,5 million inhabitants.
 Density: 57 inhabitants per km²
 Capital-city: Vilnius
Administrative Organization
 A Unitary state
 Central government local offices : 10 counties
(Apskritys)
 Only one tier of local government :
60 municipalities (Savivaldybes)
Local Government System
Municipal council
Mayor and deputy-mayor
60 municipalities
Executive committee
Municipal controllers
Local Government Law
 The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania
 1990 Act on local self-government (reformed in 2008)
 1994 Act on local authorities and municipal council
elections (reformed in 2000 and 2003)
 1994 Act on local administrative units (creating
municipalities and counties)
The Municipal council
 It is the deliberative body
 Its members are directly elected for a four-year term
on a proportional representation system
 It controls the implementation of laws and statutes
 It is responsible for law and order
 It protects the citizens’ rights and interests
The Executive body
 The mayor, elected for a four-year term within the
municipal council
 The deputy-mayor, elected by the municipal council on the
mayor’ proposal
 The executive committee : members from the council
 The mayor prepares the agenda of the municipal council
meetings that he/she chairs; he/she signs the minutes
 The deputy-mayor enacts the mayor’s instructions
 The executive committee manages the local authority
Local government control
 The municipal controller is appointed after national
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selection.
He/she runs the municipal control department
He/she is responsible for the financial audit of the budget
that is assessed by the municipal council
If the municipality has more than 30,000 inhabitants, an
internal audit committee is set up
Each county has one controller who administratively
controls the municipalities
Local Government Responsibilities
 Two types of responsibilities since 2008 :
 Local authority’s own responsibilities
 Responsibilities delegated from central government
Human Resources
 1999 Act on local government staff
 Management of the Civil Service : government, the
minister in charge of the public service, the head of the
local authority
 Status: public civil servants
 Public administration in Lithuania is being
professionalized
Financial Means
 Own fiscal revenues
 Shared fiscal revenues
 Subsidies from the State
 Local loans
Expenditure
Total local government expenditure:
 In 2001:
944 millions Euros
 In 2008:
1178 millions Euros
 The largest portion is dedicated to education
 The second largest portion is dedicated to social security