Report: cooperation of great importance to the overall organisation of the regulatory activities of municipalities
The purpose of the project was to propose concepts for more efficient organisation of regulatory duties related to environmental protection, building supervision and environmental health care. Cooperation was found to be of particular importance between building supervision, environmental protection and environmental health. It facilitates the performance of duties by all the departments involved and contributes to the overall development of municipal activities. According to the report, regional cooperation between municipalities ensures sufficiently large units, reduces vulnerability, improves the quality of service and increases productivity. Aside from inter-municipal cooperation, large cities and, in some cases, counties should have the opportunity to organise these services.
Building supervision, environmental protection and environmental health care preferably organised at local level
The report focuses on how to organise activities in response to the needs for cooperation that exist in the individual fields of activity and the benefits to be gained from such cooperation. As part of the project, the University of Tampere prepared two scientific articles, the key contents of which are included in the report.
In the context of developing local government activities, the model based on the existing structures was found to work best in the organisation of building supervision and environmental protection services. However, in the field of environmental health care, it transpired that veterinary health and food control involved a number of features suggesting that they could also be organised by counties or even central government.
According to the findings and the theory underlying the report, environment protection should optimally be organised locally. With regard to environmental health care, the same holds primarily for health protection. However, the existing municipal structure does not allow small municipalities to provide public services of sufficiently high standard – the units are simply too small. Consequently, these municipalities need to seek cooperation frameworks that ensure adequate building supervision and environmental protection services.
Regional cooperation important
The report suggests that the best solution may be offered by a model based on regional cooperation between municipalities. It would ensure sufficiently large units and synergy benefits with key partners.
Services organised by large cities and counties
The report proposes that exemptions could be made to the standard regional concept when warranted by operational considerations. Inter-municipal cooperation is expected to work best between municipalities of similar size and with a similar economic structure. As cities already possess the necessary resources, they could continue to operate these services independently.
Another alternative to the regional model is an arrangement by which counties assume responsibility for the activities if cooperation has already been carried on in the past and the county is close to an operational area in terms of size. The report makes due allowance for the diverging development of the individual regions and the advancement of digitalisation. Operators can select one of the proposed concepts or modify them to meet the specific needs of the region involved.
Staggered approach
To accomplish the change, it is necessary to have incentives, such as financing for projects that serve the purposes of the objectives, as well as information on the established goals, benefits available to operators and the applicable criteria. Another key to attaining the objectives is that the various administrative sectors pursue similar long-term policies in managing the change. However, the report concludes that the foreseen cooperation will not be achieved in all parts of the country unless legislative controls are put in place. As the last phase in this staggered approach, it is proposed that minimum criteria are established for the operators by law to allow municipalities to create their cooperation frameworks on this basis.
The report was prepared as part of the implementation of the Government Plan for Analysis, Assessment and Research for 2015.
For more information on the Government’s analysis, assessment and research activities, see tietokayttoon.fi
Inquiries:
Researcher Jarno Parviainen, Finnish Consulting Group Oy FCG, tel. +358 (0)50 4361473, [email protected]; Director of Legislative Affairs Riitta Rönn, chair of the project steering group, Ministry of the Environment, tel. +358 (0)295 250 255, [email protected]; and Director of Urban Research Kauko Aronen, Project Manager, tel. 358 (0)50 557 5768, [email protected]
