Local government is an independent form of public authority. The relevant provision follows from the Constitution. After the official separation of spheres of influence between the federal, regional and municipal authorities, a new management system emerged, the structure of territorial bodies was designated, a new type of civil service was introduced, and senior positions of local self-government were established.
The level of well-being and social protection of citizens directly depends on persons replacing high posts in municipalities. The coherence and effectiveness of the work of the bodies headed by senior officials of local self-government depends on how accurately the scope of their authority is established. Inadequate regulation leads to duplication of functions, which, in turn, negatively affects the entire system of local self-government.
Head of the municipality: status, authority
In the system of local self-government, a higher position has been established, the replacement of which implies a special responsibility. It's about the head of the municipality. The election procedure and the powers of this person are fixed in the Federal Law No. 131 and the charter of the Moscow Region.
A person who replaces the highest position in the local government system is vested with special competence in resolving issues of territorial importance. In accordance with the Federal Law No. 131, the head of administration is the sole governing body of the Moscow Region. He is vested with organizational and administrative or executive and administrative powers.
The representative body and the head of the municipality are in constant close contact. The head of the municipality may lead the local Duma and decide, among other things, issues related to its activities.
Of course, the head of the Ministry of Defense in the system of territorial authority takes a leading place. This high status is guaranteed by law, supported by society.
Local Government Structure
Self-government cannot be implemented without bodies vested with the rights to resolve issues directly related to the interests and needs of the population. The most important condition for the effectiveness of territorial power is the availability of elected structures.
The local government system is formed by:
- Representative body.
- Head of Moscow Region.
- By the local administration.
- Supervisory authority.
- Other structures and elected officials provided for in the charter of the municipality.
The presence of the first three bodies in the system of municipal authority is mandatory.
However, the Federal Law No. 131 admits that the charter of the intracity municipal defense of the city is fed. value or rural settlement may provide for the establishment of an executive body. Its management is entrusted to the head of the municipality, the acting head (chairman) of the representative structure of the Ministry of Defense.
The charter of a municipal district and a settlement having the status of an administrative center in it may provide for the establishment of a local district administration. It is entrusted with the management functions of the relevant territorial unit. In this case, the local administration is not created in the settlement itself.
Features of the creation of bodies and the appointment of officials
The rules of formation, the procedure for the activity of local power structures, the rules of appointment, the term of office of the head of a municipality are determined in the charter of the Moscow Region.
The names of the local administration, senior position, representative body are determined in the law of the relevant subject of the Russian Federation taking into account cultural and historical traditions.
The formation of local authorities can be carried out directly by the population during the elections. Territorial structures can also be created by the representative institution of power of the Moscow Region. To address a specific list of issues, each body is given the appropriate authority.
The head of the municipality may be elected or appointed by contract.
Separation of spheres of influence
Territorial power structures are not included in the system of state structures. State bodies and their officials are not entitled to participate in the formation of local self-government institutions and appoint municipal employees, except as expressly established in Federal Law No. 131. Thus, according to the regulatory act, representatives of regional legislative structures can participate in competitive commissions to replace the posts of heads of city administrations counties and municipal areas (1/3 of the composition).
Local government structures are legal entities.
Political and economic aspects of the system
When considering the rights of municipalities in matters of forming the structure of territorial bodies and the staff of employees, one cannot but dwell on some features of their implementation. This topic has two sides: political and economic. The first is connected with the scheme of organization of structures of municipalities, i.e., with a certain complex of structures and their officials, the definition of their powers, the procedure for interaction on the approval of regulatory acts. The economic aspect is due to the management features of the created territorial bodies. None of these sides can be singled out in full measure, since their mutual penetration always takes place.
Nevertheless, the type of electoral system when creating a representative structure, the procedure for the formation of an administration and the division of powers between structures, and the method of appointing the head of a municipality will depend on the political culture and situation in a particular locality. The powers, structure, and working procedures of local authorities, in turn, are determined by the urgent needs of the Moscow Region.
Obviously, in each particular municipality, the economic infrastructure and political culture have their own characteristics. Therefore, management structures must be created in accordance with the specifics of management objects. This, in turn, is achieved by empowering municipalities to independently determine the system of local authorities.
Features of the election of the head of the Moscow Region
In accordance with the provisions of Article 36 of the Federal Law No. 131, the highest position of local government should be provided for in the municipality. The choice of chapter is carried out:
- The population through the exercise of suffrage.
- Representative body.
The specific method depends on the decision of the population. In accordance with Article 130 of the Constitution, citizens independently determine the structure of local government institutions.
The choice of the method of election of a senior official determines the determination of the functional load placed on him. The head of the municipality in one case may be a member of the representative body, at the same time have a casting vote and act as its chairman. In another case, a senior official is vested with leadership. The head of the municipality in such a situation will already perform slightly different tasks.
In the first case, the subject will tend to be more representative, and in the second - to executive functions.
Legal requirements
Federal Law No. 131 emphasizes that in a municipal district, a senior official acts as the chairman of a representative body. He, in turn, is composed of deputies and senior officials of the settlement included in this district.
The candidate must be a citizen of the Russian Federation, have passive suffrage and must be 21 years old by the day of election. Regional legislation, however, may establish a lower age limit. Subjects of the Russian Federation are not entitled to raise the limit.
The term of office of the head of the municipality is determined taking into account the specifics of a particular locality. The duration of the period should be fixed in the charter of the MO. The term of office of the head of a municipality may be 2-5 years. This duration is provided for the highest persons elected by the people. If the appointment is made from among the members of the representative body, the term of office of the head of the municipality is equal to the period of work of this structure.
Taking office
The direct acquisition of authority by the head of a municipality is, as a rule, carried out within two weeks from the moment of election. The period a person takes office is necessary for the transfer of documents, attributes of power. It represents a kind of transitional stage.
Powers of the highest person of MO
They can be divided into several groups:
- Representative.
- Control.
- Normative.
- Organizational, coordinating and others related to management.
The powers of the head of the administration of the municipality to a greater extent have a power-management character. His tasks include the management of sectors of the economy that exist on the territory, structural units of the executive branch. If we talk about the head of the Ministry of Defense as the chairman of the representative body, then he carries out mainly organizational and control activities.
Representative powers in interactions with other structures of territorial and state power, organizations, and citizens will be common. The highest persons of municipalities have the right to act on behalf of the MO without a power of attorney.
Common rule-making powers can also be considered. They are associated with the publication of various legal acts (orders, decrees) relating to the organization and work of the representative body of local authority.
The head of the municipality, within the powers, exercises control over the activities of subordinates and their compliance with legislative requirements. Top officials of the Moscow Region, in turn, are accountable and directly controlled by the population and the representative structure of power.
The grounds for the termination of powers of the head of the municipality
The law permits the removal of a person from a senior post before the expiration of the term established in the charter. Early termination of powers of the head of the municipality is possible in the following cases:
- Of death.
- Resignations at will.
- Recognizing him fully or partially incompetent. This procedure is carried out in court.
- Dismissals from a post.
- Recognition of the dead or missing. To remove a person from his post, there must be a court order that has entered into force.
- Traveling abroad for permanent residence.
- Entry into force of the conviction.
- Termination of citizenship of the Russian Federation.
The termination of powers of the head of the municipality is also allowed in the event of his removal from office by voters and upon recognition by the court of his inability for health reasons to perform the functions assigned to him.
Warranties and limitations
The law establishes a number of conditions, compliance with which is mandatory for the heads of municipalities. They are not entitled to be deputies of the State Duma and representative regional bodies, members of the Federation Council. The heads of the MoD are forbidden to simultaneously fill an elected post and be municipal or civil servants.
Senior persons may not engage in entrepreneurship or other commercial activities related to profit-making. The exception is work in the field of pedagogy, science or art.
Heads of municipalities have immunity. The law prohibits criminal prosecution, arrest, detention, interrogation, search and conduct operational search measures against them.
Realization of certain state powers by local authorities
Separate functions of state power are transferred to municipalities. This significantly saves taxpayers' funds for the creation of specialized units of state bodies and helps to improve the quality of interaction with the population.
The distribution of functions must be balanced. It is necessary to correctly determine the list of powers that local authorities can exercise. It is advisable to carry out some functions in conjunction with government agencies.
State bodies have the right to transfer part of their functions to the local government institutions of all municipalities defined by the Moscow Region or a separate administrative-territorial unit.
Any authority of the public authority structure is formed of 3 elements: legal regulation, financing and the actual provision of specific services. All these components for issues of territorial importance are assigned to local authorities. If we talk about the transfer of certain state functions, then the authority to provide certain services should be delegated. Simply put, only those tasks can be delegated to the local authority, the implementation of which by regional or federal authorities will not bring the required result.
For example, issues related to the allocation of municipal land in the ownership of citizens should be decided at the level of the administration of a particular municipal entity, and not the regional authorities. Moreover, the general procedure is enshrined in federal law. Local legislative bodies cannot change it at their discretion. In municipalities, therefore, there are special land committees that deal with the provision of land to citizens. Information about the owners of the property, in turn, is included in the federal register, which is valid throughout the country.
The authorities regulating a particular area, setting standards and norms, social benefits should clearly understand how much money is needed to implement the relevant tasks. Consequently, they should be held accountable for the adequacy of funding. Failure to comply with this principle can lead to extremely negative consequences. For example, as of 2003, the state debt to the population on social benefits was higher than the total consolidated budget.
Federal Law No. 131 clearly divided the powers between state and local authorities, identified issues that are jointly administered, and established the procedure for delegating certain powers to municipalities. The normative act, in particular, states the following. All functions of territorial authorities that are not within the competence of municipal authorities are separate powers delegated to local structures. From this formulation follows a simple criterion for the separation of tasks. All powers that are not in the list of issues of territorial significance are within the competence of state power.