Local Government in Small Rich Municipalities in the Czech Republic: Political Battles for the Chairs of Representatives or Versatile Cooperation for the Benefits of Municipalities?
Abstract
To the Czech Republic, a fragmented municipal structure is characteristic, where small municipalities prevail. The majority of small municipalities lacks sufficient financial means and are forced to rely on external funding - e.g. loans - if they wish to invest in municipal development.
However, we also find examples of small municipalities, which manage considerable properties and dispose with above the average income. While small municipalities have been the topic of interdisciplinary research, the case of small, yet rich municipalities has been neglected.
The aim of this article to contribute to this research and present a case study of five rich municipalities in the Czech Republic, where the number of residents does not exceed 500 people. The author analyses municipal politics until 2002 and for each election period applies the typology of local models of democracy as defined by V.
Bubeníček, examines financial management, the range of local services provided to residents and the prospects of inter-municipal cooperation. The article is based on the author's individual research, interviews conducted with the mayors of the municipalities in question as well as the collected by the Czech Statistical Office, Ministry of Finance and information available in various media outlets.