Territorial public self-government as a development institution at the municipal level

The municipal level of administration is closest to the specific needs and interests of the population. Most of socio-economic development issues are geographically localized precisely at the level of municipalities (municipal districts, urban and rural settlements, urban districts and intracity territories of the cities of federal significance). They are regarded as the main component of socio-economic development of territorial entities at a higher level (constituent entity of the Russian Federation and the country as a whole), since it makes it possible to take into account the entire specifics of territorial development, local resources and conditions.

The purpose of the local government reform of the 2000s was, on the one hand, to bring local government closer to the population, its interests and needs, and to develop this institution into a full-fledged, independent level of administration responsible for a range of issues and powers in the framework of the common policy that would address the comprehensive challenges of the country’s development [3]. At the same time, it was not possible to achieve the main goals of the municipal reform. The main reason for this lies in the number of unresolved issues. The low financial and economic independence of the majority of municipalities is the most important of them. The amount of own sources of formation of local budgets in Russia – land tax and individual property tax – and deductions from individual income tax and other taxes are insufficient for the complete and effective resolution of all issues and problems of local importance. The majority (more than half) of local budgets’ revenues still consists of gratuitous receipts from the budgets of higher levels (grants, subsidies and subventions). For instance, on average by municipal districts of the Vologda Oblast their share in 2006 was 81%, in 2014 – 72% (tab. 1). The ability to fulfill expenditure obligations in urban districts became more dependent on revenues from the regional budget during the “municipal reform”.

Under these conditions there is an objective necessity to find new sources of growth and strengthen the revenue base of local budgets and development institutions.

Table 1. Proportion of gratuitous receipts in the budgets of municipal formations of the Vologda Oblast, in % of the total revenues

Indicator 2006 2007 2013 2014 2014 compared to 2006, +/-, p.p. Average in municipal districts 81.1 70.4 64.9 72.0 -9.1 Average in urban districts 33.5 37.4 50.0 59.0 +25.5 Average in urban and rural settlements 69.8 78.1 47.1 54.5 -15.2 Average in all municipalities of the Vologda Oblast 54.6 62.6 56.5 64.6 +10.0 Calculation source: Otchety ob ispolnenii konsolidirovannykh byudzhetov sub”ektov RF i byudzhetov territorial’nykh gosudarstvennykh vnebyudzhetnykh fondov [Reports on Execution of Consolidated Budgets of RF Subjects and Budgets of Territorial State Extra-Budgetary Funds]. Ofitsial’nyi sait Federal’nogo kaznacheistva [Official Website of the Federal Treasury]. Available at:

The results of a questionnaire survey of heads of the Vologda Oblast municipal formations carried out by ISEDT RAS1 show that the potential of residents is the main qualitative criterion of progressive socioeconomic development of the municipality. Therefore, one of the main tasks of local government is to promote the participation of various social groups in solving the issues of territorial development. According to the results of 2014, 28% of municipalities’ heads who were interviewed (among them, 54% were heads of urban settlements and 24% were heads of rural settlements) noted that the residents became more interested in the transformations taking place in their municipalities (fig. 1).

However, the proportion of those who said that the situation did not change remains high

(46–67%).

The main forms that represent the social activity and direct participation of citizens in dealing with local issues are as follows: voting in the elections of authorities of various levels (74, 31 and 63% of the heads of districts, urban and rural settlements respectively), appeal to the administration on matters of interest (67, 82 and 63%), and participation in meetings and public hearings (32, 62 and 45%; tab. 2 ). The less widespread forms are legislative initiatives and participation in the activities of territorial public self-government (less than 6% of all the respondents pointed that out). The situation in 2014 did not see any significant changes compared with 2009.

Thus, given the fact that municipalities do not have enough self-sufficiency in economic and financial aspect and the population does not take part in local administration and solution of local issues, it is necessary to develop various forms of self-organization of the population at the local level to implement projects on landscaping, improvement of infrastructure, and solve social issues mainly with the use of people’s personal funds and resources with little budget support.

Figure 1. Distribution of the answers of heads of municipalities to the question: “In your opinion, how has the social activity of the population changed for the previous year?” (as a percentage of the number of respondents)

■ Social activity increased

Social activity remained the same ■ Social activity decreased

Source (here and in table 2): database of the monitoring of the conditions of reforming local government institutions in the Vologda Oblast, ISEDT RAS, 2007–2015

Table 2. Ways in which the residents of the Vologda Oblast municipalities express their social activity (as a percentage of the number of the heads of municipalities who participated in the survey)

Way of expressing social activity	Municipalities
	municipal districts		urban settlements		rural settlements
	2009	2014	2009	2014	2009	2014
Participation in voluntary work, sports and cultural events	61.5	42.1	45.5	61.5	56.3	64.9
Voting at the elections of authorities of different levels	80.8	73.7	72.7	30.8	82.9	63.4
Contacting local authorities on matters of interest	61.5	73.7	63.6	76.9	57.0	57.5
Participation in meetings and public hearings on local government	42.3	31.6	18.2	61.5	34.2	44.8
Assistance in organizing events (personal and financial)	38.5	15.8	18.2	23.1	27.2	26.1
Publications in the mass media	38.5	21.1	27.3	7.7	12.7	9.7
Formation and functioning of public organizations and trade unions	46.2	21.1	9.1	38.5	10.1	6.0
Participation in sociological research (e.g., surveys)	19.2	5.3	0.0	15.4	7.6	3.0
Legislative initiative, i.e. citizens initiate decisions aimed to improve the quality of life and standard of living	-	0.0	-	0.0	-	3.0
Membership in political parties	36.6	5.3	0.0	0.0	8.9	1.5
Formation of various forms of territorial public selfgovernment, and nonprofit organizations	-	5.3	-	0.0	-	1.5

Territorial public self-government (hereinafter – TPSG) is a very effective way to coordinate interests of local residents and unite the efforts for joint activities. In accordance with the Federal Law “On the general principles of organization of local government in the Russian Federation” of October 6, 2003 No. 131-FZ, territorial public self-government means self-organization of the citizens at the place of their residence on the territory of a part of the settlement, intracity territory of a federal city, city district, intracity neighborhood for the purpose of carrying out their own local initiatives at their own responsibility. TPSG can be organized by the dwellers of several apartments of a residential building, by all the dwellers of a residential building, by the dwellers of a group of houses, a residential neighborhood, a rural settlement that is not a village, and other areas of residence.

Territorial public self-government may be carried out: 1) directly by the residents at the meetings and conferences; 2) by specially created bodies (a collective executive body is the board or committee headed by the chairman, and a control and revision body). Each TPSG body established in municipalities must be registered either as a legal entity (a nonprofit organization), or without forming a legal entity (in this case it is only necessary to register the Charter of the TPSG body).

A modern Russian TPSG performs the following functions: protection of the rights and interests of residents; implementation of social projects; work with children and adolescents; control of trade and the quality of provision of different services; harmoniza- tion of issues concerning the use of land; participation in the protection of public order; organization of leisure of residents; maintenance of the territory and landscaping; repair and maintenance of the housing stock; organization of charity and volunteer events, etc.

The activities of TPSG, if they are supported by authorities in the region and district, can have substantial positive economic and social impact. For example, in the Arkhangelsk Oblast in the early and mid-2000s, local population implemented 54 projects worth 1.75 million rubles in the course of four years; the projects were supported by the Institute for Public and Humanitarian Initiatives and funded by the Arkhangelsk Oblast budget that allocated the money to the activities of TPSG; the projects gave an economic effect of almost 30 million rubles [12]. G. Tyurin in his book “The Experience of Revival of Russian Villages” writes: “This is the level of capitalization, which neither the Japanese nor Americans have with their advanced technology. People obtain small funding, write a project on their own and become the subject of action. Previously, people from the district center made a decision about where to build any object. Now they themselves discuss where and what they will do; moreover, they look for the cheapest solution due to the lack of funding. There is only one coach who helps the initiative villagers. His task is to advice them in their choice and implementation of the project that will help them realize the next one. And each new project will make them more selfsufficient in economic aspect. In most cases these are not business projects in a competitive environment, but rather a stage of acquiring skills in resource management. But those who have already passed this stage can go further. Generally speaking, it is a form of altering consciousness. The population that comes to know itself, creates within itself a body of territorial public self-government and endows it with the mandate of trust. Essentially, it is the very zemstvo [a form of local government in Imperial Russia. – Translator’s note], although it is somewhat different compared to what it used to be in the 19th century. But the meaning is the same: it is a self-organizing system, which is bounded to the territory and is responsible for its development” [12].

Therefore, the Arkhangelsk Oblast has considerable positive experience of functioning of TPSG bodies and joint decision of specific local issues by the authorities and population. In 2006–2015, the number of registered TPSG bodies increased almost 18-fold: from 47 to 830. As of January 1, 2015, most of them (631) were created in rural settlements, 154 – in urban settlements and 45 – in urban districts [4].

In 2006–2013, TPSG bodies in the Arkhangelsk Oblast implemented 1,212 projects, of which 758 – over the past three years. In 2014, municipal contests received applications for 442 projects, 284 of them obtained state support. Almost half of the projects (44.7%) dealt with the issues of settlements’ improvement; a quarter (26.0%) – with the preservation of local historical and cultural heritage and folk traditions, 17.2% – with the development of physical culture and sports; 9.5% – with the provision of support to socially vulnerable groups, 2.5% – with the development of environmental culture and safety [4].

Especially significant tangible results with the participation of TPSG were achieved in 2011–2014 (tab. 3) . While the annual share

Table 3. Results of implementation of the projects by TPSG in the Arkhangelsk Oblast in 2011–2014 [4; 5]

Project	2011	2012	2013	2014	Total for 2011–2014
Repair and reconstruction: – local roads, thousand square meters	52.6	44.5	41.0	75.0	213.1
– sidewalks, thousand running meters	16.0	6.0	10.0	1.5	33.5
– bridges, units	20	15	8	7	50
Improvement, units: – stand-pipes, water towers and other sources	41	38	43	23	145
– memorials to those killed in the Great Patriotic War	6	14	22	28	70
– monuments of spiritual heritage	8	16	14	9	47
– playgrounds for children	27	33	35	34	129
– sport facilities	29	33	48	22	132
– cultural houses, leisure centers, museums	24	24	33	24	105
– tourist sites	10	16	22	12	60
– art centers	2	8	8	5	23
– urban forests, pastures, parks	3	5	13	1	22
– firewater ponds	0	1	15	7	23
Amount of implemented projects for improving courtyard territories, units	48	62	89	84	283

of budgetary funds allocated in this period for the implementation of socially significant projects was less than 50%2.

A somewhat different model is applied in the Komi Republic, where 3/4 of the funding of the projects initiated by TPSG bodies comes from the budget. For instance, in 2013, TPSG bodies implemented 23 projects, for which the funds of their initiators (citizens and business) amounted to 2286.7 thousand (25.3%) and subsidies from the regional budget – 6.740 thousand (74.7%) [13].

The Kostroma Oblast catties out an annual monitoring of the development of territorial public self-government, the results of which also indicate the great scope of activities of this institution in the region and its participation in solving various local issues, in helping to raise a significant amount of borrowed funds for projects and activities (8.2 million rubles in 2013) [6].

The city of Vologda also has examples of successful implementation of TPSG activities. The years 2005–2007 witnessed significant development of territorial public self- government. On the initiative of citizens, TPSG bodies were generated in all major neighborhoods: currently there are 31 TPSG bodies in Vologda.

In 2011–2015, TPSG bodies in cooperation with the Vologda City Administration implemented several hundreds of projects, initiatives and activities with the participation of thousands of people. TPSG bodies carry out their activities in seven main directions (tab. 4) .

Along with the development of territorial public self-government, the definition of priorities in solving local issues and participation in their implementation shift from local authorities to the population, and this is the basis of efficiently functioning local self-government.

Thus, the analysis of performance results of territorial public self-government suggests that TPSG can help deal with most of the issues related to landscaping, enhancing the comfort of living, and the issues of social protection of citizens.

Table 4. Spheres of activities of TPSG bodies in Vologda in 2011–2015

Activity	Content
1. Projects for the creation of infrastructure objects	Construction of sports facilities with the participation of TPSG (soccer fields, volleyball courts, hockey rinks), children’s playgrounds, recreational areas, small architectural forms, container yards
2. Projects aimed to improve the city	Participation of TPSG in organizing volunteer works on cleaning the territory from garbage, landscaping and repairs of courtyards, porches, playgrounds, landscaping of recreation areas, parks, squares, alleys, ponds, river banks, tree and shrub planting, decoration of yard areas for the New Year holidays, assistance to housing and communal services in removing snow from the yards
3. Control function of TPSG	Monitoring the repairs of courtyards, roads, major repairs of buildings; assistance to the councils of apartment buildings; supervision of the accrual of utility payments; monitoring of the quality of public transport services (headway, the condition of trolleybuses, buses, service culture); monitoring of condition of yard areas and infrastructure objects; monitoring of compliance with trade regulations; identification of places of illegal trade, writings on buildings; identifivcation and prevention of illegal advertising and slot machines
4. TPSG initiatives	Development by TPSG and approval by the Vologda City Administration in 2013 of the projects on integrated development of territories for almost all the city neighborhoods; initiatives on the repair of yard territories and participation in these works; initiatives on installation of signs; projects for street lighting; initiatives on the improvement of embankments; TPSG activities aimed to preserve recreation areas; establishment of “health zones” in the city (smoke free parks, etc.); allocation of parking areas; changes in traffic patterns inside courtyards
5. Culture and sport events	Organization of the following events by TPSG bodies: cultural activities in the city neighborhoods (concerts, theme parties, parties for children); contests, round tables, competitions and sporting activities among adults and children; activities to support healthy lifestyles; measures on the revival of traditions of Russian folk festivals; literary evenings, competitions on the International Women’s Day; establishment of interest clubs, the School of Young Parents; exchange of seedlings event; restoration and repair of monuments; honoring the TPSG activists and residents who have made significant contribution to the development of the neighborhood; production of special materials (books, newspapers, leaflets, videos) on the history of the neighborhood and its modern life; participation in citywide cultural events, activities and socially significant projects
6. Educational activity	Organization of the following events: competitions of children’s drawings; competition of projects and ideas for improvement of the city; competition of layouts and drawings of snow fortresses among children and adolescents; children’s sports festivals and sports events, trips, educational activities (for example, “Cheerful science”); guiding students on road safety; carrying out preventive conversations with students on various topics
7. Volunteer and charity activities	Participation of TPSG in the following activities: preparation of kindergartens and children’s homes to the beginning of the school year; collecting gifts for the Dom Malyutki orphanage; participation of TPSG representatives in the Donor’s Day; organization of free sports training for children, congratulations of veterans of the Great Patriotic War and home front workers and presenting them with gifts

Source: compiled with the use of [9; 15]

160	6 (42) 2015 Economic and Social Changes: Facts, Trends, Forecast

Birobidzhan, Surgut, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Blagoveshchensk, Magadan, Magnitogorsk, Dolgoprudny, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm), where TPSG bodies supported by local governments for several years have their own premises and office equipment, and also an opportunity to implement various projects on a competitive basis. The amount of grant support for individual projects ranges from 50 to 500 thousand rubles, and the total sums of grant competitions, which are the most important source of support for citizen initiatives, are measured in millions of rubles [14].

In recent years, the development of TPSG started to receive support from associations of municipalities , in particular, the Council of Municipal Formations of the Moscow Oblast, which plans to establish a Coordinating Council of heads of TPSG bodies of the Moscow Oblast and support the idea of establishing the Association of TPSG, which would receive the necessary legal and organizational support from the Council of Municipal Formations of the Moscow Oblast [14].

Along with the institutions created under local authorities to support TPSG, there are nonprofit foundations, coordination and other collective structures. For example, the public foundation for providing support to TPSG “Soglasiye” was established in Chelyabinsk, coordinating councils of territories – in Angarsk, resource centers for development of local self-government – in Irkutsk. TPSG associations are powerful institutions that support TPSG (e.g., Association of TPSG in Rostov-on-Don, in the republics of Komi and Khakassia, in Ivanovo, Voronezh and other oblasts) [14].

The results of the survey conducted by specialists of the Department for Internal Policy of the Vologda Oblast Government among the heads of municipal districts of the oblast point out the main problems in the organization and activities of TPSG bodies. These problems are as follows:

• 1.    The place of TPSG bodies is not defined clearly in the system of local selfgovernment, in particular:

  – the range of powers, which can be actually implemented by TPSG bodies on their own or in cooperation with administrations is not defined;

  – the mechanism of interaction between TPSG and local administrations, their agencies and public authorities for the purpose of addressing common issues that concern residents of the territory is not clear (complete subordination of TPSG to administrations, full independence from them or a mutually responsible partnership between TPSG and administrations in the solution of problems of territories);

• 2.    Sources of TPSG funding are not established:

• – budget financing: permanent, nonpermanent, on a competitive basis;

  – the role of TPSG in the monitoring of execution of local budget revenues and expenditures;

  – opportunities and challenges in organizing entrepreneurial activities of TPSG, and the issue of how TPSG bodies promote entrepreneurial activity on their territory;

  – other sources of TPSG funding (donations, off-budget funds, punitive sanctions, legitimate charges paid by legal entities and individuals).

• 3.    Heads of municipalities are not sufficiently informed about the positive experience of TPSG and the results achieved in this regard.

Figure 2. Conceptual diagram of functioning of territorial public self-government as a development institution at the municipal level

The optimal model of functioning of territorial public self-government as a development institution at the municipal level can be expressed, in our opinion, in the following diagram (fig. 2) .

Residents of municipalities have their own interests and needs such as comfortable living conditions, landscaping, improvement of the overall level of socio-economic development on the territory of their residence. These common interests necessitate citizens’ selforganization at their place of residence.

The most active residents unite into formal groups (through the establishment, registration and functioning of territorial public selfgovernment bodies on a regular basis) and into informal groups (one-time associations aimed to solve joint problems). The authorities of municipalities are also interested in enhancing the role of people in addressing the issues and tasks of local importance. Therefore, various departments for interaction with TPSG and/ or centers for community outreach and TPSG in various neighborhoods of the city can be created within local administrations (urban districts and municipal districts).

After the registration of TPSG, the plan of its activities is set out, the bodies of its management are formed, its priority activities and projects that should be realized in a given territory are determined. Next, the available and potential funding sources and the resources of people, government and business are identified for the purpose of projects implementation. These can include the funds from residents, local business (in the form of donations, charity) and the funds of regional and local programs for co-financing of TPSG projects.

The choice of an optimal model for financing TPSG projects depends on the following factors: the capabilities of regional and local budgets; the number and functioning of TPSG bodies already established; the regional characteristics of municipalities, the purchasing power of incomes of the region’s population; the scale (amount of financial expenses) of the projects already developed. In this case, the approaches to the structure of funding TPSG projects can be as follows:

• 1)    34% (or 50%) – funding from the regional budget (subsidies and grants in the framework of the relevant regional program for TPSG support); 33% (or 20%) – funding from the local budget (subsidies and grants under the municipal program for TPSG support); 33% (or 30%) – funds from nonbudget sources (population, business, nongovernmental organizations and various extra-budgetary funds, organizations that give grants);

• 2)    75% (or 50, 33%) – funds from the budget of the RF subject, 25% (or 50%, 67%) – funds from non-budget sources (in the absence of municipal programs for TPSG support);

• 3)    75% (or 50, 33%) – local budget funds, 25% (or 50%, 67%) – funds from non-budget sources (in the absence of regional programs for TPSG support);

• 4)    100% at the expense of extra-budgetary sources (in the absence of regional and

municipal programs for TPSG support and other programs in which they can participate, and/or for the implementation of small-scale projects and activities).

After the resources to implement a TPSG project or event have been found, its specific executors are determined (the residents of the territory of TPSG, third-parties working under contract, employees of the municipal enterprises, agencies and local governments with the involvement of their resources).

The annual monitoring of TPSG activities is carried out in order to estimate their specific measurable performance results, make their financial and other reports, identify problems in the organization of TPSG, assess how the needs of the population are satisfied, and set new goals for the next year.

To coordinate the activities of the TPSG in the municipal district (urban district) it is advisable to establish the Council for development of territorial public self-government under the head of the municipality as its institutional mechanism. The Council consists of the heads of TPSG bodies and their representatives, the head of the municipality, specialists from the administration, and representatives of public organizations. It is created after the registration of at least five TPSG bodies in the municipality and it assembles at least once a quarter to discuss the most critical issues of TPSG, community development, community-driven initiatives, opportunities to support specific projects of residents, etc.

When developing and updating the strategic and program documents for the development of the municipality, the opinion of each TPSG body (Council on TPSG development under the head of the municipality) is taken into consideration, and the possibility of specific involvement of TPSG in the implementation of various policy documents is determined.

TPSG plays an important role as an institution of social control at the local level, including that in the implementation of public-private partnership projects on the territory of TPSG.

The effective implementation of this mechanism requires the following forms of support of territorial public self-government on the part of local government of the district and settlements:

• 1.    Normative-legal and organization and advisory support:

  – development of legal framework governing the activities of TPSG;

  – organization of activity of the councils on TPSG development under the head of the municipality (urban district, municipal district);

  – organization of activities of working groups under the administration of the urban district with the participation of TPSG representatives;

  – competitions for grants to support community projects of TPSG bodies;

  – training of TPSG representatives;

  – organization of meetings of officials of local government bodies with the public and representatives of TPSG, organization of personal reception of citizens on the territory of presence of TPSG;

  – organization of thematic seminars, round tables and conferences on organizational issues for TPSG representatives.

• 2.    Promotion of residents’ participation in the activities of TPSG:

  – through the development of municipal target programs in which TPSG bodies can participate;

  – involvement in the activities to preserve the housing stock, to clean the territory, and to plant and beautify the municipality;

  – organization of socially significant works;

  – development of the system for providing support to TPSG representatives (financial incentives, the awarding of diplomas, letters of gratitude and other forms of support).

• 3.    Strengthening the interaction between TPSG bodies, nonprofit organizations and small/medium business:

  – by assisting in the development and implementation of joint community programs and initiatives;

  – by organizing and carrying out joint events;

  – by generalizing and disseminating positive experience of TPSG bodies.

• 4.    Information support of TPSG activities implemented in the following forms:

  – preparation and publication of brochures, newsletters, reference books on TPSG activities;

  – issuing of information leaflets by TPSG committees for the public;

  – involvement of the media for the purpose of covering the experience and performance results of TPSG committees, the experience of their interaction with local authorities, nonprofit organizations, small/ medium business and residents.

People’s self-organization and their involvement in municipal management, in improving the efficiency of interaction between government and population can be improved by the development of a regional and/or municipal target program for support and stimulation of development of territorial public self-government , which involves co-financing of TPSG projects from the regional or local budget, their provision with organizational, advisory, methodological and other assistance.

The analysis of the programs that are implemented in Russia’s regions and municipalities suggests that TPSG are mainly supported through subsidies from regional or local budgets allocated to co-finance TPSG projects (for example, the Arkhangelsk and Volgograd oblasts, the cities of Arkhangelsk, Volgograd, Ulyanovsk), subsidies for co-financing the projects of socially oriented nonprofit organizations (Komi Republic), funding to support the work of TPSG chairpersons (the town of Kotelnich in the Kirov Oblast), subsidies for co-financing of local social initiatives (Kirov Oblast and Kirov).

Organization of TPSG activities provides an opportunity to see local problems from within, find their solutions through joint efforts of the public, business, city authorities and municipal enterprises, thereby forming effective municipal partnership.

Thus, territorial public self-government is an institution of direct democracy, the institute for local self-government. Its role in the development of territories and solution of local issues can be quite significant if there is an effective system of TPSG in the municipality, and if its financial and other support is provided by state authorities and local government bodies. Therefore, for each municipality it is necessary to define clearly the role of TPSG in the management of territories’ development, in the solution of local problems, to determine the place of TPSG in the single system of development institutions at the municipal level with the help of the mechanism described above.