From Symptoms to Principles – Venture Points for Local Government Reform in Slovakia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46282/bpf.2025.16Keywords:
local government reform, decentralization, self-government, metropolitan regions, fiscal reformAbstract
The main problems of Slovak local and regional finances that hinder the development of municipalities and regions include the lack of diversified sources of revenue for local and regional governments, limited flexibility and accountability mechanisms in local and regional taxation, and insufficient financial instruments for the development of cities and regions. Nevertheless, a number of proposals have been put forward to modernize the current system of local and regional government, including the modernization of fiscal relations within public administration. Among the biggest challenges for reform are the large number of municipalities and the need to make difficult political decisions that limit the political will to implement any reform. At the same time, reforms should ensure the fair distribution of limited resources, clearly and logically linking them to revenues and competences, while also seeking internal efficiency within local government. The article aims to contribute to this discussion on local government reform, particularly with regard to political economy, financing, and the related legal framework. The article also addresses the constitutional basis for possible local government reform, as it already provides certain guarantees for local government. The aim of this paper is to identify existing principles for the design of local government reform, particularly with regard to financial relations in the constitutional order of the Slovak Republic (nominal subsidiarity, nominal fiscal independence). It includes a critical assessment of the limits of existing principles, also from a comparative perspective. Finally, we consider proposals for new principles for successful local government reform, slightly considering metropolitan regions (internalization of costs and revenues in connection with the exercise of powers, geographical-spatial logic of organization, or closer links between political and legal responsibility for performance).
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