Organisation of local services in rural areas with a declining population

1. Conference on ‘EU funds for the improvement of services provided by the municipalities’, 20.11.2008, Riga Organisation of local services in rural areas with a declining population - Example of a municipality in Saxony-Anhalt - Lothar Finzelberg, County Councillor of the Jerichower Land Region and Deputy Member of the Board of the County Council Association of Saxony-Anhalt

2. Conference on ‘EU funds for the improvement of services provided by the municipalities’, 20.11.2008, Riga Structure: Population trends in Saxony-Anhalt Municipal structure in Saxony-Anhalt The role of administrative districts in rural areas Demographic change: an opportunity and a challenge Recommended courses of action Lothar Finzelberg, County Councillor of the Jerichower Land Region and Deputy Member of the Board of the County Council Association of Saxony-Anhalt

3. Conference on ‘EU funds for the improvement of services provided by the municipalities’, 20.11.2008, Riga 1. Population trends in Saxony-Anhalt 1989: 2,964,971 inhabitants 2007: 2,412,472 Admin. districts: 1,858,103 Self-admin. towns: 554,369 Forecast for 2025: 1,976,237 Admin. districts: 1,483,164 Self-admin. towns: 493,073 (- 20.2 %) (- 11.1 %) Lothar Finzelberg, County Councillor of the Jerichower Land Region and Deputy Member of the Board of the County Council Association of Saxony-Anhalt

4. Conference on ‘EU funds for the improvement of services provided by the municipalities’, 20.11.2008, Riga 2. Municipal structure in Saxony-Anhalt (as per 01.11.2008) 11 administrative districts (up to 1994: 37 admin. districts; up to 2007: 21 admin. districts) 1,013 communities belonging to an administrative district, 130 with full-time staffing 3 self-administering towns Lothar Finzelberg, County Councillor of the Jerichower Land Region and Deputy Member of the Board of the County Council Association of Saxony-Anhalt

5. Conference on ‘EU funds for the improvement of services provided by the municipalities’, 20.11.2008, Riga 3. The role of administrative districts in rural areas To fulfil public functions which are of regional importance, or the proper fulfilment of which is beyond the administrative and financial scope of local communities. Examples: Youth services and social welfare Schools (excl. primary schools) Local public transport Waste disposal Music schools and adult education centres Lothar Finzelberg, County Councillor of the Jerichower Land Region and Deputy Member of the Board of the County Council Association of Saxony-Anhalt

6. Conference on ‘EU funds for the improvement of services provided by the municipalities’, 20.11.2008, Riga 4. Demographic change: an opportunity and a challenge Administrative districts in Germany all essentially face the same challenges, but have different population densities: - Recklinghausen: 850 inhabs./km2 - Region of Hanover: 510 inhabs./km2 - Admin. dists. in S.-A.: 96 inhabs./km2  heterogeneous financial and administrative power Lothar Finzelberg, County Councillor of the Jerichower Land Region and Deputy Member of the Board of the County Council Association of Saxony-Anhalt

7. Conference on ‘EU funds for the improvement of services provided by the municipalities’, 20.11.2008, Riga 4. Demographic change: an opportunity and a challenge Greater economic power in rural areas Reversing the trend of young people migrating from the villages Improving municipal public services Hub towns to counteract rural erosion Lothar Finzelberg, County Councillor of the Jerichower Land Region and Deputy Member of the Board of the County Council Association of Saxony-Anhalt

8. Conference on ‘EU funds for the improvement of services provided by the municipalities’, 20.11.2008, Riga The example of local public transport Administrative districts secure local public passenger transport by road, including school transport. Specification: max. 50 km within an hour (basic offer) Demand and reality Costs met from fares and public funding (reduction in subsidies!) Flexible operating forms Road construction – an important infrastructural measure for local public passenger transport and business Passenger numbers in decline – rising costs Lothar Finzelberg, County Councillor of the Jerichower Land Region and Deputy Member of the Board of the County Council Association of Saxony-Anhalt

9. Conference on ‘EU funds for the improvement of services provided by the municipalities’, 20.11.2008, Riga The example of schools Adaptation of the school landscape falling school rolls yet the same concentration of schools higher technical specifications increase the costs of equipping schools the number of pupils has halved within 10 years National targets for class sizes and class numbers should be applied flexibly – approval for small schools in residential areas Lothar Finzelberg, County Councillor of the Jerichower Land Region and Deputy Member of the Board of the County Council Association of Saxony-Anhalt

10. Conference on ‘EU funds for the improvement of services provided by the municipalities’, 20.11.2008, Riga The example of medical care Rural doctors caring for twice as many patients as their urban counterparts; specialists in particularly short supply Administrative districts financially responsible for hospitals Improved dovetailing of in-patient and out-patient care required Creation of incentives to encourage doctors to settle in rural areas (loans, grants, links to county hospitals) Lothar Finzelberg, County Councillor of the Jerichower Land Region and Deputy Member of the Board of the County Council Association of Saxony-Anhalt

11. Conference on ‘EU funds for the improvement of services provided by the municipalities’, 20.11.2008, Riga The example of integrated rural development concepts Administrative districts have devised concepts for economic and social development with rural area stakeholders Involvement of agriculture, communities, associations and business EU grants funding key projects Sustainability Lothar Finzelberg, County Councillor of the Jerichower Land Region and Deputy Member of the Board of the County Council Association of Saxony-Anhalt

12. Conference on ‘EU funds for the improvement of services provided by the municipalities’, 20.11.2008, Riga 5. Recommended courses of action Support for entrepreneurial development - Entrepreneurial independence: essential for dynamic growth in employment - Support for start-ups – provision of technology and start-up centres – cooperation with institutes of higher education - Learning opportunities - Funding advice Advice – rapid licensing – the administration as service provider Lothar Finzelberg, County Councillor of the Jerichower Land Region and Deputy Member of the Board of the County Council Association of Saxony-Anhalt

13. Conference on ‘EU funds for the improvement of services provided by the municipalities’, 20.11.2008, Riga 5. Recommended courses of action Structural measures - Municipal cooperation for joint fulfilment of tasks - Integration of special authorities in municipalities as consolidated authorities - Regional planning – hub towns as service centres with special cohesive power to meet the needs of the population - Availability of sufficient funding for the fulfilment of duties Lothar Finzelberg, County Councillor of the Jerichower Land Region and Deputy Member of the Board of the County Council Association of Saxony-Anhalt

14. Conference on ‘EU funds for the improvement of services provided by the municipalities’, 20.11.2008, Riga Thank you for your attention! Lothar Finzelberg, County Councillor of the Jerichower Land Region and Deputy Member of the Board of the County Council Association of Saxony-Anhalt