Swiss municipalities are getting bigger – but remain small
Published: Tuesday, Nov 26th 2024, 11:20
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The more than 2,100 Swiss municipalities consider themselves to be efficient - but spatial planning, asylum seekers and digitalization are presenting them with major challenges. Succession planning for the ageing, predominantly male "village leaders" is also becoming a problem.
These challenges have led to numerous mergers in recent years, according to the latest municipal monitoring report presented by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and the University of Lausanne on Tuesday.
As of January 1, 2024, there were still 2131 municipalities. This represents a decrease of 18 percent compared to 2010, when there were still 2596 independent municipalities. Nevertheless, despite around a fifth fewer municipalities, many still remain small.
Half of all municipalities have fewer than 1693 inhabitants. This is also reflected in the administrative offices - in more than a third of municipalities (37 percent), fewer than five people work in the municipal building.
Trend towards mergers on the decline
According to municipal monitoring, there is still a trend towards municipal mergers, but this has weakened noticeably. "Many merger potentials appear to have already been exhausted, and new projects are often met with skepticism," the study states.
One major challenge facing the municipalities is filling political offices. According to municipal monitoring, an average of 34 politicians work for a municipality - over 72,000 people nationwide.
According to their own statements, 49% of municipalities are already finding it difficult to find candidates for municipal executive bodies. They cite the high time commitment and increasing content requirements as reasons for this.
Heads remain male and are getting older
Municipal executives are increasingly ageing. The average age of executive members is now 54, two years more than in the last survey in 2017. Only 18% of members are younger than 45. "We are therefore observing an ageing trend in Swiss municipal executives," the study states.
It is not only young people who are underrepresented - the proportion of women also remains low; it currently stands at 25%. The distribution of offices is also striking; most female executive politicians took on the health, social affairs and education portfolios. Women are clearly in the minority in construction and industrial works.
Cooperation without a merger
Almost one in three municipalities has problems in the areas of spatial and zoning regulations (32%), the care of asylum seekers (31%) and the approval of planning applications (29%). Around a quarter of municipalities are also reaching the limits of their capacity in terms of municipal administration. And digitalization poses new challenges.
In order to accomplish their tasks, more and more municipalities are turning to cooperation. Almost half of the municipalities have expanded their inter-municipal partnerships in recent years. This is particularly widespread in the areas of Spitex, fire departments and social welfare.
Swiss municipalities are generally satisfied: they rate themselves as efficient. Their financial situation also appears to be good; compared to the 2017 survey, tax rates remained stable in 51% of municipalities and fell in 33%. However, two thirds of municipalities also receive funds from the cantonal financial equalization structures.
The National Municipal Monitoring Survey has been conducted every five years since 1988 and took place for the seventh time in 2023. In the most recent survey, 83% of municipal clerks and 50% of executive politicians took part.
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