Can nepotism in local and regional self-government be stopped?

The government of Tihomir Orešković is embarking on one of the first major reforms in the local self-government system. Specifically, members of the government from the Most party want to halt hiring in local self-government, which has proven to be an inexhaustible source of new jobs over the past decades.

According to Večernji list, amendments to the Law on Salaries in Local and Regional Self-Government are being considered, which would reduce the salary mass received by more than 30,000 officials and employees in counties, cities, and municipalities by a quarter.

The situation is particularly critical at the local level, where after each local election, the staff of the electoral winners are hired, and due to laws and collective agreements, old staff cannot be dismissed. In addition to “nepotism,” the non-compliance with the provision of the law from 2010, which limits the mass of funds for salaries of employees in counties, cities, and municipalities to a maximum of 20 percent of the operating income that local self-government achieved in the previous year. This is especially a significant problem for small municipalities that are mostly dependent on the state treasury and spend the most money on – salaries.

Of course, it is not uncommon for employees in local self-government to have higher salaries than their colleagues at the state level. As Večernji list learns, the government plans to limit the salary mass to 15 percent of the income that regional and local self-government achieves in the previous year. This also means that salary amounts will have to be reduced by a quarter. Of course, assuming that the units of regional and local self-government maintain the same number of employees.

However, the question is how it will all end, as this initiative is currently supported only by members of the government from the Most party. It should be noted that so far, the Patriotic Coalition has not looked favorably on the proposals sent from Most regarding the reform of local self-government. According to the initial reactions of some leaders from the Patriotic Coalition, who are also local leaders, this idea does not find fertile ground among them either.