Even if the reform of local public administration will move from the voluntary amalgamation stage to the normative one, consulting citizens and local elected officials must remain an essential element of the process. The statement belongs to the head of the public association “Inițiativa Pune Umărul”, Oleg Ivancioglo, and was made during the public debate “Reform of local public administration and the amalgamation process – from voluntary to normative”, organized by the IPN Press Agency. According to him, involving communities in decision-making can contribute to identifying the most suitable reorganization formulas and to an easier transition for the targeted localities.

Oleg Ivancioglo mentioned that the increase in financial incentives granted to localities that choose to voluntarily amalgamate has boosted the merging process. However, where it was not possible to identify a consensus, the normative amalgamation must be preceded by consultations with the citizens.

“The fact that financial incentives have tripled in the voluntary amalgamation process has led to more localities amalgamating. Communities that have failed to find an agreement will amalgamate normatively. But even in the normative amalgamation process, residents and local elected officials must be consulted to find the most suitable amalgamation solution, so that this transition can be as smooth as possible,” explained the administrator of the AO “Initiative Shoulder the Effort”.

In his opinion, the reform of local public administration should lead to a more efficient administrative system, where the responsibilities of institutions are clearly delineated.

“We need a more flexible, clearer administration, with competences that do not overlap, where citizens know exactly which authorities are responsible for certain sectors. From our experience, we know that when it comes to the second level of the APL, it’s more complicated to reach them. People do not know who the regional counselors are and what their competences are,” Oleg Ivancioglo further said.

This draws attention to the fact that administrative reorganization must be accompanied by concrete solutions for infrastructure and public services issues, so that residents can feel the benefits of amalgamation. “We need an administration with clearer competencies, which can concretely solve the citizens’ problems. It’s primarily about quality drinking water supply, sanitation, roads. Access roads are a problem,” pointed out the administrator of the AO “Initiative Shoulder to Shoulder”.

Disclaimer: This material was prepared by the IPN Press Agency, within the project “Local Public Administration Reform in Dialogue”, funded by the Ministry of Culture from the Media Subsidy Fund.