| Abstract | Republika Hrvatska je početkom devedesetih godina prošlog stoljeća, unatoč agresiji i Domovinskom ratu, provela tranziciju zatečenih institucija bivše države u skladu sa demokratskim višestranačkim parlamentarnim standardima. Naslijeđeni ustroj i funkcioniranje lokalne i područne (regionalne) samouprave koji je obuhvaćao 101 općinu transformira se, u skladu sa hrvatskim Ustavom i zakonima, u općine, gradove i županije kao jedinice lokalne i područne (regionalne) samouprave, te Grad Zagreb sa statusom glavnog grada i statusom županije. Desetak godina kasnije uvodi se kroz zakon dopuna jedinica lokalne samouprave pod nazivom veliki gradovi. Dok je broj županija kao jedinica područne samouprave od ustanovljenja do danas ostao isti, to se ne može reći za jedinice lokalne samouprave, općine i gradove. Naime, taj broj je kontinuirano rastao, tako da imamo značajno povećanje broja općina i broja gradova. Danas je u Hrvatskoj 428 općina, 127 gradova, 20 županija te Grad Zagreb, što je ukupno 576 jedinica lokalne i područne samouprave. S druge strane, broj stanovnika u Hrvatskoj od 1991. godine u kontinuitetu se smanjuje, do 2021. godine gotovo za milion stanovnika. S osnove same organizacije jedinica lokalne samouprave kroz prizmu efikasnosti i racionalnosti, dolazimo do poražavajućih spoznaja. Naime, više od polovice općina nema niti jednog proračunskog korisnika, odnosno nisu u mogućnosti isporučiti niti jednu uslugu građanima i poslovnim organizacijama na svom području. Proračunska sredstva kroz prihode jedinica lokalne samouprave odlaze na plaće službenika i namještenika u tim jedinicama lokalne samouprave. U javnom diskursu, stručna i medijska javnost, permanentno upozorava na potrebu korijenite reforme sustava lokalne samouprave. Na tom tragu, ne tako rijetko, istupaju i političari svih boja. Hrvatska je Vlada 2022. godine pokrenula reformski projekt s ciljem uspostave kvalitetnog i učinkovitog sustav lokalne i područne samouprave, baziran na povezivanju (spajanju) jedinica radi uspostave učinkovitog, kvalitetnog i transparentnog pružanja usluga građanima, kako bi građani imali jednake mogućnosti za zadovoljavanje svojih potreba i interesa, bez obzira gdje žive. Intencija je, dakle, osigurati svim hrvatskim građanima bez obzira na mjesto prebivališta, jednake usluge u kvantitativnom i kvalitativnom smislu koje će isporučiti jedinice lokalne samouprave. U tu svrhu Vlada je osigurala značajna proračunska sredstva koja se isplaćuju jedinicama lokalne samouprave koje u djelatnom smislu pridonose definiranim ciljevima kojima mora težiti lokalna samouprava. Iako sporo, pomaci se ipak događaju, ali smo još uvijek daleko od cilja. |
| Abstract (english) | In the early 1990s, despite the armed aggression and the Homeland War, the Republic of Croatia carried out the transition of their institutions of the former state in accordance with democratic multi-party parliamentary standards. The inherited organization and functioning of local and regional self-government, which included 101 municipalities, is being transformed, in accordance with the Constitution and laws, into municipalities, cities and counties as units of local and regional self-government, and the City of Zagreb with the status of a county. The law defines two districts (Knin and Glina) which have not been implemented in an active sense. Ten years later, a new unit of local self-government called large cities was introduced by law. While the number of counties as units of regional self-government has remained the same since its establishment until today, the same cannot be said for local self-government units, municipalities and cities. Namely, this number has been continuously growing, so that we have an increase in the number of municipalities and cities. Today in Croatia there are 428 municipalities, 127 cities, 20 counties and the City of Zagreb, which is a total of 576 local and regional self-government units. On the other hand, the number of inhabitants in Croatia has been continuously decreasing since 1991, so by 2021 we have almost one million inhabitants less than before. Based on the organization of local self-government units through the prism of efficiency and rationality, we come to devastating realizations. Namely, more than half of the municipalities do not have a single budget beneficiary and municipalities are not able to deliver a single service to citizens and business organizations in their area. Budget funds through the revenues of local self-government units are covering salaries of officials and employees in these local self-government units. In the public discourse, the professional and media public constantly warns about the need for a radical reform of the local self-government system. Not so rarely, politicians of all parties are coming forward in this direction. In 2022, the Croatian Government launched a reform project with the aim of establishing a high-quality and efficient system of local and regional self-government, based on the linking (merging) of units in order to establish an effective, high-quality and transparent provision of services to citizens, so that citizens have equal opportunities to meet their needs and interests, regardless of where they live. The intention is to provide all Croatian citizens, regardless of their place of residence, with equal services in quantitative and qualitative terms, which will be delivered by local self-government units. With this aim in mind, the Government has provided significant budget funds that are paid out to local self-government units that actively contribute to the defined goals to which local self-government must strive to. Although slow and not on a significant scale, shifts are happening. |
