OGRE COUNTY COUNCIL, LATVIA

Content of the presentation: -Municipal system in Latvia, -Functions of Ogre County Council, -Structure and organisation of Ogre County, -Budget and finances

Municipal system in Latvia

1 st (local) level – local municipalities: -53 towns (pilsēta), -432 civil parishes (pagasts), -35 counties / amalgamated municipalities (novads) 2 nd (regional) level – district municipalities: -26 districts (rajons), -7 major cities – republican cities (republikas pilsēta) Totally 553 municipalites in Latvia Average number of inhabitants in one municipality - 4,3 thousands

Functions of the Ogre County Council

- to organise for residents the provision of utilities (water supply and sewerage; supply of heat; management of municipal waste; collection, conducting and purification of waste water) irrespective of the ownership of the residential property; - to look after the public services and facilities and the sanitary cleanliness of the administrative territory (building, reconstruction and maintenance of streets, roads and public squares; lighting of streets, public squares and other areas designated for public use; development and maintenance of parks, public squares and green zones; control of collection and removal of industrial waste; flood control measures; establishment and maintenance of cemeteries and places for burial of dead animals) ;

- to determine procedures for the utilisation of public- use forests and waters if it is not specified otherwise by law; - to provide for the education of residents (ensuring the specified rights of residents to acquire primary and general secondary education; ensuring children of pre-school and school age with places in training and educational institutions; organisational and financial assistance to extracurricular training and educational institutions and education support institutions, and others); - to maintain culture and facilitate the preservation of traditional cultural values and the development of creative folk activity (organisational and financial assistance to cultural institutions and events, support for the preservation of cultural monuments, and others);

- to ensure access to health care, as well as to promote a healthy lifestyle of residents; - to ensure social assistance (social care) to residents (social assistance for poor families and socially vulnerable persons, ensuring places for old people in old-age homes, ensuring places for orphans and children without parental care in training and educational institutions, provision of overnight shelters for the homeless, and others); - to organise guardianship, trusteeship and adoption matters, as well as issues associated with foster families; - to provide assistance to residents in resolving issues regarding housing;

- to facilitate entrepreneurial activity within Ogre County, and to be concerned about reducing unemployment; - to issue permits and licences for entrepreneurial activity, if such is provided for by law; - to maintain public order and to combat drunkenness and immorality; - in accordance with the territorial planning of the local government, to determine land utilisation and procedures for its development; - to oversee construction in the Ogre County; - to perform civil status document registrations; - to collect and provide information necessary for State statistics;

- to organise elections of lay judges and to perform the necessary measures for elections of the Council; - to participate in ensuring civil defence measures; - to conduct in the Ogre County the registration of children residing therein; - to implement the protection of the rights of the child in the Ogre County

Structure and organisation of Ogre County

-Ogre County is a unified administrative territory, consisting of Ogre town and Ogresgals civil parish -the administrative centre of the County is Ogre town, -two service centres for inhabitants have been opened by the municipality in Ogresgals as well

Council The representation of inhabitants is ensured by an elected body of decision making - Ogre County Council, consisting of 13 Council members -takes decisions, -sets the institutional structure of municipality, -decides on implementation of autonomic functions and voluntary initiatives as well as on procedures of performing the functions and tasks of state administration, -works out and executes the municipal budget

Council elects from the Council members the chairperson, deputy chairperson and the members of the 3 standing committees

Chairperson -is politically and legally responsible for the work of the Council; - manages the work of the Council, co-ordinates the examination of issues in committees; - recommends examination of issues in Council, committees and commissions; -coordinates the action of Council members, employees of the administration and municipal institutions; - represents the Council in relations with the State and other local governments; - represents the Council in court without special authorisation;

- in the name of the Council issues powers of attorney, signs contracts and other legal documents; - opens and closes bank accounts; - manages the work of the Financial Committee; - issues binding instructions to employees of the municipal administration; -in the case of losing the position, secures the transfer of documentation and material values to the new chairperson of the Council; - performs other duties provided for in laws, regulations issued by the Cabinet, decisions of the Council and Regulations of the Ogre County Council

Deputy chairperson - performs duties of the chairperson during chairperson’s absence or according to chairperson’s order as well as performs other tasks in the cases prescribed by the law; - in the name of the Council signs contracts and other legal documents; - ensures the connections with public organisations acting in the administrative territory; - coordinates the social, educational and culture issues of the County; -coordinates the action of commissions, boards and work groups;

-organises the flow of applications of physical persons and legal entities in the structural units of the municipality; -represents the Council in court without special authorisation; - performs other duties provided for in laws, regulations issued by the Cabinet, decisions of the Council and Regulations of the Ogre County Council as well as performs tasks delegated by the chairperson

Standing committees 3 standing committees: -Financial Committee (9 members), -Economic Committee (6 members), -Committee of Social, Educational and Culture Issues (6 members) Established for securing the action of the Council and preparation of draft decisions for the Council meetings Basic principle – Council members choose the committees according to their interests

Executive director - organises the implementation of binding regulations, other regulatory enactments and decisions of the Council and has a right to submit proposals to the Council’s committees; - issues orders to the heads of municipal institutions and structural units as well as to other employees of the administration; - manages the executive work of the Council; - within the scope of the approved budget of administration, staff and rates of wages of the Council, hires and dismisses employees of the administration and sets their salaries; -after adjusting with the chairperson, signs the Joint Agreement with the employees of the municipal administration;

-repeals unlawful decisions taken by the administration; - prepares recommendations to the Council regarding revocation of unlawful or ineffective decisions of the relevant municipal institutions; - recommends to the Council the appointment to office or removal from office of the heads of municipal institutions; - organises the formulation of drafts of the territorial development programme, territorial planning, public report and budget and submits them to the Council for approval; -gives regular reports to the Council concerning the work of the administration; -organises the necessary action of administrative employees and municipal institutions for offering services at the inhabitants service centres in Ogresgals and Ciemupe villages;

-has a right to completely or partly take the issue into his competence; -participates in discussing the issues at the meetings of Council and committees; -after municipal elections and in the case of losing the position by the chairperson, organises the transfer of documentation and material values to the new chairperson of the Council; - in accordance with the procedures and within the scope prescribed by the Council, acts with local municipal property and financial resources as well as signs agreements and other legal documents in the name of the Council; - performs other duties according to decisions of the Council

Administration Executive body of the municipality Ensures execution of decisions taken by the Council as well as provides organisational and technical service for Council’s action The management of the municipal administration is implemented by the executive director

 Press Service  Public Procurement Department  Administrative Department  Legal Department  Public Utilities Department  Development Department  Labour Safety Department  Centralised Bookkeeping  Financial and Economic Department  Building Department  Registry Office  specialists and service staff Total number of employees – 98 (permanent - 79)

Municipal institutions -established for implementation of municipal functions, -their rights, duties and structure are set by their regulations, approved by the Council, -heads are appointed and dismissed by Council’s decision, -action is lead and coordinated by the executive director of the Council

There are totally 24 municipal institutions in Ogre County: -7 kindergartens, - 6 comprehensive schools (Ogre Secondary School Nr.1, Ogre Grammar School, Jaunogre Secondary School, Ogre Primary School, Ogresgals Primary School, Ogre Evening School), -Ogre Art School, -Ogre Music School,

-Ogre County Sports Centre, -Basketball School, -Children and Youth Centre, -Ogre Central Library, -Ogre Social Service, -Municipal Police, -2 Custody Courts (in Ogre and Ogresgals), -Regulator of Public Utilities

Municipal agencies -established for implementation of municipal functions, -acting according to their regulations as well as to management agreement signed between municipality and agency There are 3 municipal agencies in Ogre County: -“Malkalne” (public utilities), -“Dziednica” (health care), -“Ogre County Culture Centre” Joint agency “Tourism Information Centre of Ogre District” is established together with other municipalities

Commissions Established for implementation of single municipal functions Composed by the Council members and inhabitants of the municipality Their action is set by their regulations, approved by the Council There are totally 22 commissions acting in Ogre County

Budget and finances

The budget of Ogre County Council consists of: 1)the basic budget – main part of the budget, generated from: -tax revenues (inhabitants income tax, immovable property (both land and buildings) tax, gambling tax), -non-tax revenues (payments for paid services provided by budget institutions, various municipal duties and other incomes, target donations from state budget); 2) the special budget – used for implementation of concrete activities, includes sources of incomes designated for special tasks (privatisation fund, road fund, natural resources tax, received donations and gifts)

Budget of Ogre County 2007 (EUR) IncomesExpenditures Basic budget Special budget

Contact information of Ogre County Council Brivibas iela 48, Ogre LV-5001 Phone: Fax: Thank you for your attention!