MUNICIPAL PUBLIC POLICY IN THE CONTEXT OF CONSOLIDATION OF MUNICIPALITIES

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to present the results of a study of municipal public policy (hereinafter MPP) in the Vologda Municipal District in 2023 in the context of reforming the local government system. The basis of the concept under study is laid within the framework of bill No. 40361-8 “On the general principles of the organization of local self-government in a unified system of public authority.” The latest bill proposes a reform that “centralizes” local government (hereinafter LSG), significantly changing the principles of its territorial and organizational structure. In particular, by consolidating municipalities through the abolition of the settlement level and the transition to a single-level LSG model; this significantly reduces its powers, transferring a significant part of them to the discretion of the regions. In a system of public authority created on this basis, local self-government may face a lack of representativeness of public interests and the final loss of its own purpose. The multi-layered nature of the concept of MPP allows us to assess the optimal balance between the political and administrative properties of state and municipal authorities, that combines administrative regulation and the use of forms of public participation. Based on the index approach, the features of the state of institutions and mechanisms of MPP in the municipal district are presented according to the criteria of consistency and indicators of the completeness of the functionality of actors and subjects of MPP, its typological features are identified and analyzed, which make it possible to minimize the negative consequences of the transition to a new model of the territorial and organizational structure of local authorities in the Vologda region areas.