|
III Self-motivated and self-organized Actions by municipalities
It is important that each municipality researches its own need for merger positively with considering the points described below and then, based on the result of the study, tries to establish a Merger Negotiation Meeting.
As for practical tips for managing the merger negotiation meeting, you should refer to the ‘Guideline for Promotion of Municipal Mergers' (August 6, Year of Heisei 11th (1999), Jiti-Shin No. 95), the 200lGuideline, and the Manual for Merger Negotiation Meetings (refer to (3) of IV). And you also have to consider the following points:
| (1) |
Inform the Situation and the Progress to the Public |
In order to be accountable to its residents on municipal merger, each municipality should study its own need of municipal merger positively and it also should apprise the residents of both the process and result of the research. The municipality, for example, can use the newsletters so that the residents know the issues easily.
In case of a municipality that has already started an actual merger negotiation, the municipality is expected to inform the situation and the progress to the public by newsletters.
| (2) |
Establishing and Managing a Merger Negotiation Meeting |
Based on the 'Recommendation for the Self-governing by Residents and the Expansion of the Local Tax Revenue in the Era of Decentralization', issued by the twenty-sixth Local System Research Group, (on October 25 in Year of Heisei 12th (2000)) and the 'Opinion of the Promotion of Municipal Mergers' by the Decentralization Promotion Committee (on November 27 in Year of Heisei 12th (2000)), MPHPT will notice to all municipalities the enacting order about the 'Law that Revises Parts of Local Autonomy Law' that has been passed recently in order to reflect the people's opinions in the area for promoting the self-determined municipal merger. The law contains following points;
| i) |
When decide about the establishment of a Merger Negotiation
Meeting, municipalities have to give an opportunity to express their opinions
to representatives of the group of residents who have requested the establishment
of the meeting. |
| ii) |
Municipalities can appoint the representatives as members of
the meeting. |
| iii) |
Even when the request of the establishment of the Merger Negotiation
Meeting was not accepted by the congress, the request will be enacted if the mayor
requests a popular vote or otherwise more than one-sixths of the voters gather
signatures for a residents initiative and more than a half of the voters in the
popular vote are in favor of the establishment of the Merger Negotiation Meeting. |
| iv) |
When the Merger Meeting was established through the residents
initiative, the municipality has to inform the representatives of the group about
the make-up of the Municipality City Plan and the progress of the negotiation
and also has to inform them to the public. (If the meeting was established before
the enactment of the law, the same process should be taken in six month after
the enactment.) |
As the 2001 Guideline describes, municipalities are expected to work hard to reflect properly opinions of the residents and to manage the meeting efficiently, as referred in ‘d' above, and they are expected to collect the decision criteria for the merger within about one year after the establishment of the meeting.
| (3) |
Public Works and Other Programs before the Merger |
MPHPT permits municipalities within the Special Merger Support Areas to issue bonds as a part of Merger Special Programs in order to finance the construction of the public facilities that help the smooth mergers (refer to (1) of IV). We expect these bonds be used effectively. On the other hand, municipalities should reconsider the programs and the unnecessary disposals of assets before the merger that may prevent the unification of the new merged municipality.
| (4) |
Programs for Keeping and Improving Public Services |
Since there are some fears that the residents' opinions are not reflected enough after the merger and the level of the governmental services goes down, enough discussion and negotiation should be done in the Merger Negotiation Meeting before the merger in order to allay these fears. Especially the municipalities should consider implementing the following programs beneficial for the local communities.
| i) |
Opening Branches of the City Hall Office after the Merger and
Using Community Council |
For keeping and improving the governmental services before the merger, the offices that used to be used as the Municipality Office for the before-merger municipalities can be used as regional branches of the new City Hall for the after-merger municipality.
Also, after-merger municipalities should consider establishing the Community Council in each before-merger municipalities to discuss the important issues for the community and ask people living in the area of the before-merger municipalities to join the council in order to reflect their opinions.
| ii) |
Use of Post Offices After the Merger |
On December 1 in 2001, the 'Law for Certain Operations of the Municipalities that can be Handled in the Post Offices', which allow the municipalities to contracting out to post offices in the community the certain operations that is beneficial to the local community: Such as issuing the residential records and nation records has enacted. Municipalities should use this scheme after the merger in order to improve the service level to the community after the merger better than before the merger.
| iii) |
Improving the Services by the e-Local Governments |
The National government set as a clear goal to be achieved by the FY 2003 the policy that the electric information should be treated just same as the paper documents in the governmental administration. The National government is supporting local governments in transforming to the e-Local Governments. Municipalities are expected to conquer the geographic limitations and disadvantages after the merger by using the on-line for administrative procedures between the new municipality and its residents. Municipalities can use the basic specification for the on-line system that MPHPT issued in March 2001.
| iv) |
Undertaking the ‘Wagamachi-dukuri Initiatives (Building Own
Community Initiatives)' |
In order to help the smooth community building after the merger, municipalities can undertake 'Wagamachi-dukui initiatives' endorsed by MPHPT starting from this year. For example, municipalities can promote the activities of the residents for the community building within the school districts and can tighten the cooperation between the municipality and its residents.
| v) |
Introducing the Special Measures of the Constituency System
for the Municipal Assembly |
Municipalities can use the special measures for the constituency system for the Municipal Assembly provided by the Municipality Merger Law (Article 6 and 7) and the Public Positions Election Law (Section 6 of Article 15) in order to reflect properly the opinions within the before-merger municipalities in the Municipal Assembly after the merger.
|
