This report presents the summary results of a citizen survey on local government performance commissioned by the USAID/LGPA project in Albania. The survey was conducted by the Institute for Development Research and Alternatives (IDRA).

The Local Government Survey was conducted during the month of April 2008 and consisted of a total random representative sample of 4,774 Albanian citizens. The survey had two components:

In this report, the results are presented for each target city and the control cities sample. In this way comparisons can be made both between target cities and control cities sample and between target cities themselves.  

This guidebook will serve as a tool in the professional growth and training of local tax administrators and will directly support the success of local government finance reform. While developing the Guidelines on the Administration of Local Taxes and Fees, the Local Governance Program in Albania (LGPA) has taken into consideration the importance of this sector, and the fact that good administration of local taxes and fees requires clear procedures, transparency of operation, and a professional staff with integrity.

The publication is a practical guide to help local tax administrators in their daily work and consists of two parts. The first part focuses on tax policy and gives a description of the legislation authorizing and defining each local tax and fee. The second part focuses on tax administration and procedures for the administration of local taxes and fees including registration, assessment, inspection and tax enforcement procedures. In addition, the process of transparent reporting and the need for effective collaboration between the local tax administration and various central government institutions are incorporated in this handbook.

Trade and especially craftsmanship have a long tradition in Shkodra. Before 1990 Shkodra was one of the major economic and industrial areas in Albania. The workforce was highly skilled and specialized in the processing of local resources. Important branches of the processing industry in the city were tobacco processing, production of tinned food, food processing industry (sugar, pasta and vegetable oil) as well as beverage industry. The textile industry was specialised on the production of clothing and silk products. There were sewing mills and paper manufacturers, as well as metal working (for buidling, escalators and automotive industry).

Albania is currently lacking a complex sports centre which can offer sport activities and comprehensive physiotherapeutic services. This situation is due in part to the fact that during the last 15 years sports and culture has not been a priority for government policy makers. Fortunately, the city of Korça has inherited a sports complex, the only one in the country. The complex was was constructed from 1975 to 1980, but currently it is non-functional and unusable.

The proposed initiative to revitalize this complex and bring it to totally new and modern levels has come from the Municipality of Korça in cooperation with the Albanian Sports Federation. (The Municipality is currently in the process of receiving real public assets from the Central Government into municipal ownership including this sports complex. The sports complex is currently managed by the Albanian Sports Federation). This initiative is consistent with the mid and long-term vision of the municipality to make Korça an important urban and academic center of Southeastern Albania based on its historical and cultural tradition harmonized with contemporary developments in the country. The sports complex has an area of 162,946 m2 of which the municipality owns 60% and the other 40% is owned by several individual private owners. The municipality is currently working, with the assistance of several international donors, to identify the most effective formula of a public/private partnership to implement this project.

The municipality of Fushe-Kruje City with the assistance of the LGPA  Project established the Local economic Growth Committee that consist in twenty  people representatives of the public sector - the technical staff of the municipality, the business community , civil society.

The committees were convened in February. As their initial task, the Fushe Kruje committee evaluated and identified key factors that need to be addressed in order to coordinate and encourage local economic growth. Considerations included the availability of human and natural resources, economic status of the municipality, the city's cultural and social environment, as well as priorities for infrastructure and public service improvements.  In addition, administrative reforms in the area of tax collection, budgeting, asset and financial management, and public procurement that will help create a 'business friendly' environment and attract new investment were also addressed during the action planning workshops.

The LEGC in Fushe Kruje developed a strategic vision of the future local economic growth of their municipality, and prioritized immediate actions within the context of a short-term local economic development plan. One important goal of this action plan was conducting Fushe Kruje Business attitude survey, the results of which will be part of the municipality policies for the purpose of improving local services.

The LGs' status began to change in 1998 with the signing of the European Charter of Local Self-Government (ECLSG) in May, and the drafting and passage of a new Constitution. According to the Constitution, Albania is a unitary state with two levels of local government: municipality/commune at the first level, and the region (Qark in Albanian) at the upper level. Local government in Albania is based on the principle of decentralization of power and exercised according to the principle of local autonomy.

Since 1998, several important stages were launched to create autonomous LGs with full authority for managing an important share of the public sector. The Albanian model of decentralization was further shaped in the National Strategy for Decentralization and Local Autonomy (NSDLA), which was adopted by the CG in 2000.

Local Governments throughout Albania are implementing sophisticated and innovative practices to improve both the quality and quantity of services provided to their citizens and businesses. Over the last several years, Albanian local governments have seized the opportunity provided through greater decentralization to enhance their work and to provide better services. Despite the challenging economic climate, local government units have improved their governance through better tax administration, implementation of participatory planning processes, advanced financial management, increased oversight, better urban planning, and greater transparency.

The case studies included in this compendium of Municipal Best Practices 2009 is a small sample of the pioneering approaches used by Albanian local governments to improve the quality of life. As the case studies demonstrate these new techniques are being implemented both with and without the support of international donors. But regardless of the source of funds, all best practices have relied heavily on the financial and human resources of the local government units and have utilized technical expertise available in-country. With the political will, local governments have the capacity to accomplish their goals.

This Municipal Asset Management Toolkit is designed as a practical manual for LGUs to advance their asset management approaches, to improve service delivery and to maximize revenues while reducing expenditures. The Toolkit includes an overview of the legal framework pertaining to local government units’ rights in the realm of municipal property management and provides templates, models, and detailed guidance, all of which constitute the tools needed by LGUs to efficiently manage their assets. In addition, the Toolkit includes an electronic Asset Inventory to allow LGUs to catalogue their immovable assets. While this Toolkit focuses on immovable assets, many of the principles and practices can also be applied to the management of movable assets such as vehicles, IT systems, and other equipment.

This bulletin is designed to inform the citizens of Korça and local actors about the expenditures and activities of Korça municipality aiming at the improvement of good governance policies and transparency in policy-making.

The city of Korca lies in the Southeast part of Albania and it is one of the most famous places in this area. Korca has an elevation of 850 m above sea level. North of Korca by 41km lies the city of Parade, 45 km to the south lies Eureka, 27 km to the east lies Blight and to the west lies the region of Scraper. Korca is 181 km far from our capital city, Tirana. It has a favorable geographical position due to its location between the trade roads that link Albania, Macedonia (47km) and Greece (35km). Korca has a continental climate, with a cold winter and high temperatures in summer.

As an “ancient” city, Korca embodied great historical and cultural values, especially architectural, urban - planning, cultural and artistic monuments. Recently, Korca is considered “The City of Fests”, due to the large number of activities organized and high levels of participation; promoting our cultural heritage and enriching it with new elements.

Himara municipality has identified tourism as one of the principal sector for economic development. This is the reason the municipality pays a special attention to this sector by focusing on investments to improve infrastructure and public services, information and other services for businesses and citizens. In addition, the efforts made by the municipality can be considered as strong support for the business sector operating in the field of tourism, which is gradually expected to be one of the most profitable sectors for Himara region.

The material hereby presented is part of the work done in connection to the improvement of information and communication with tourists, businesses and citizens in Himara municipality. The Regional Development Agency of Fier and Himara Municipality prepared it in the framework of the assistance provided by the USAID-funded Local Government Program in Albania (LGPA).

Findings of survey will serve to Himara municipality to improve the work on planning and implementation of public services and services for citizens. In addition, we hope that this publication and activities undertaken to announce it, will also reach tourist businesses in order to affect the improvement of diversity, quality and conditions of hotels, restaurants and activities and possibilities for relaxation and enjoyments.

Fier Region is situated in the south-west of Albania.It is bordered by Durrës in the north, Elbasan in the north-east, Berat in the east, Vlora in the south and the Adriatic Sea in the west. Fier Region covers 1.887km2 and has a population of around 484 500. Around 60% of the population lives in rural areas. Fier Region is composed of 3 Districts: Fier, Lushnjë and Mallakastër. It has 6 municipalities (cities), 36 communes and 276 villages.

The Fier Region delivers equilibrium between production and consumption. The region has been known across time as “Albania’s granary” (food bowl) given its production capacities, encountered since ancient times. Production consists of cultivated vegetation, fruit trees, viniculture, olive-groves, apiculture, poultry and cattle. The markets in the region are filled with seasonal production and the region serves as the main supplier to neighboring markets. The region has a wonderful harmony of abundant self production, a favorable climate and coexistence of various religions and communities living in the region.

Fier Water Supply and Sewerage Company was one of the first water supply and sewerage companies in Albania to be selected to be part of a Private Sector Participation Program. The overall development objective of the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Telecommunications, under that Program, and with the financial support of The World Bank, was to introduce an incentive based, multi-city “management contract” approach to improve water supply and sewerage services, and achieve financial viability in the participating water utilities of Durres, Fier, Lezhe and Saranda.

A five-year Management Contract was signed with the Private Operator - Berlinwasser Gmbh in August, 2003. At that time, the Management Contractor assumed full responsibility for the management and administration of the four water utilities.

This catalogue, prepared under the assistance of the USAID Local Governance Program in Albania, is a first attempt toward a more effective management of the assets of Gramsh Municipality. We strongly believe that it will be an indispensable tool in promoting local economic opportunities, attracting the domestic and foreign investments in the territory we administer, generating and increasing the local revenues and ultimately an excellent introductory tool of the opportunities that the Municipality of Gramsh can offer in regard to finalization of public – private partnerships.

The purpose of this manual is to facilitate the work of finance specialists and all actors included within the Local Government Unit (LGU) on the evaluation of the needs to finance a project through a loan; the analysis of the financial market; the approval procedures; the planning of the funds to be borrowed and the repayment schedule; the preparation of bankable projects.

The USAID Local Governance Program in Albania (LGPA) intends to, amongst other, support selected municipalities in the process of borrowing in the financial market, inform them on the new Law on Borrowing, as well as fuel the capacities of the municipalities to make sure they implement this Law. This document is a detailed breakdown of the Law and the deriving sublegal acts as well as a method to evaluate the legal framework on the Local Government Borrowing and their financial power to endure a certain loan.

In this process, LGPA noticed that the Local Units, not only were unclear how to react in the process of financing their projects, but also that the majority of the financial institucions capable of lending to the Local Units do not have a good source of information for the evaluation of the financial capabilities. Usually, the methods used by the banks are designed to evaluate the private companies but not the Local Government Units and the lack of such information makes the borrowing process more complicated. This manual is a step toward the improvement of this information for both sides (the LGUs and the financial institutions).

The local government in Albania started its operation about 15 years ago and, after the reform of decentralization in year 2000, it has been consolidated as an important part of the executive power at regional and local level for an effective and efficient exercise of functions and public services. In this sense, decentralization has been accompanied with the financial and fiscal decentralization, which brought about a dislocation of public funds to local government units, thus delegating the authority and autonomy in collecting and spending these funds. As financial decentralization is still underway and the amount of public funds in usage by local government is relatively small as compared with the public funds available to local government units in other countries of the Balkans and broader, the concerns of the public, communities and civil societies on how these funds are spent and used by local authorities is ever increasing.

This guide is prepared as a guiding material on local finances and budget that will serve to the members of the Local Budget Monitoring Committee (LBMC) to increase their capacities in monitoring the budget process and all those important elements of a good and transparent management of public funds by focusing in the effectiveness and efficiency of their use.

The Fieri Development Strategy Monitoring Plan is based on a system of monitoring results, which is a logical model that defines and connects the obtained output as a result of daily activities carried out both by the municipality and projects undertaken in the context of implementing the strategy with the output of programs, objectives, and strategic goals, determined in the Fieri Development Strategy.

The logical model used as a basis for the result monitoring system, focuses on concrete results, and ensures a continuous improvement of the process. Every result has its respective indicators, which measure the real impact on meeting the objectives and on improving the life of Fieri citizens.

In the framework of the transition to the market economy and the democratization of the socio-economic life, Albania underwent several institutional and economic reforms. The period of time since 1992 is characterized by a series of political reforms which were aimed at establishing the basic institutions for the well-functioning of the state, for the democratization of life in the country as well as for creating a two-level governance. Although the local government units were only established as such during the first years of the transition period, their proper authority came after the enactment of three basic instruments which shaped the local decentralization in Albania (i) the signing of the European Charter for Local Governments (1998) and approval of the National Strategy on Decentralization (1990 – 2000) and the Organic Law of Local Governments (the Law on the Organization and Functioning of Local Government 2000). Despite the fact that the implementation of the second document still constitutes a challenge for the Albanian government (a rather controversial topic with both progressive and set-backs), the overall trend is a positive one in that local government units are being strengthened..

USAID's Local Governance Program in Albania (LGPA) is working with ten municipalities throughout Albania to foster local economic growth, improve local governance, and strengthening civic and private sector engagement in local development. LGPA aims at encouraging and facilitating local economic growth in target municipalities through increase in investment, employment and income, ultimately expanding the local tax base. LGPA provides technical assistance and on-the job training to staff in these municipalities.

USAID's Local Governance Program in Albania (LGPA) is assisting the Municipalities of Korca and Pogradec to strengthen capacities to improve management of their own assets, and to enhance specific public services throughout a participatory process.

The Municipality of Korca has chosen to increase public assets value for the purpose of market development and improve housing conditions of families in need, through developing a Private - Public Partnership based Land Development for Marked Purpose and Social Housing Program, by using properly municipal assets that were recently transferred from the state to the ownership of the city.

Pogradec has chosen to better address the needs for a Capital Investment Planning in infrastructure which will facilitate economic, tourism development and public services enhancement.

LGPA project conducts an annual survey in all the ten beneficiary municipalities of the LGPA project, called hereafter target municipalities and ten other municipalities, non beneficiaries of the LGPA grant, called hereafter control municipalities. The survey commissioned by USAID/LGPA project in Albania and conducted by the Institute for Development Research and Alternatives (IDRA) serves for: (i) Measuring residents satisfaction with services provided by the municipality and overall performance of local government administration; (ii) Tracking progress done by municipalities during the years; (iii) Comparative purposes between recipient vs. non-recipient municipalities.

The interviews were held during the period of April-May 2009. This is the second wave conducted by IDRA. The first wave was conducted during the month of April 2008. LGPA Municipality Survey 2009 consisted of a total random representative sample of 4800 Albanian residents.