Government commissioner
The government commissioner under the laws of the Austrian federal states a provisional executive body of a political community . In his function, he temporarily replaces the mayor if the mayor has been dismissed by the supervisory authority or if his mandate expires due to a municipal merger. The government commissioner has to limit his activities to current and non-postponable business. The term of office of a government commissioner ends when a new mayor is sworn in.
Concept and designation
The term government commissioner refers to the fact that he is a functionary appointed by the state government by decision, who leads the business of a municipality on a temporary basis (i.e. temporarily). In Tyrol and Vorarlberg , the term office administrator is used , in Salzburg the term community administrator .
Legal bases
In the following, the legal situation in Styria is discussed as an example , as the function of the government commissioner there has come into the public eye due to the Styrian municipal structural reform . However, there is a fundamentally similar legal situation in all Austrian federal states.
Under constitutional law, the activity of a government commissioner is justified by the state's supervisory law over the municipalities (Art. 119 a para. 7 B-VG). According to the case law of the Administrative Court, the assumption that the municipality is unable to properly carry out its tasks is a sufficient justification for the dissolution by the supervisory authority. Circumstances that justify dissolution do not have to be proven after the decision of the Administrative Court.
At church mergers
If congregations change through unification, division or new formation, there are as yet no communal organs for the “new” congregations that have arisen. At the point in time at which the change takes effect, the state government must therefore appoint a government commissioner who will manage the affairs of the municipality until the election of a municipal council and mayor, which must take place within six months. The government commissioner takes on the operational management of the municipality; in particular, he is entitled to issue ordinances in order to avert damage to the community and can also override existing ordinances of the "old" communities for this purpose. In particular, he has to deal with ongoing administrative procedures (e.g. construction procedures) during his term of office. An advisory board must be set up as an advisory body.
In such cases, the mayor of one of the merged municipalities concerned is usually appointed government commissioner.
Upon dissolution of the municipal council
The state government is authorized to dissolve a municipal council by means of a notice if circumstances justify the assumption that the municipality is unable to properly carry out its tasks for reasons for which it is responsible (Section 103 (1) Styrian GemO). This means that all mandates in the municipality expire, including that of the mayor - regardless of whether he is also a member of the municipal council. Instead of the mayor, a government commissioner who is advised by an advisory board must also be appointed by decision . The most important task of the government commissioner, in addition to the ongoing administration of the municipality, is primarily the preparation of a new election, which must take place within six months after the dissolution. A mayor who has been dismissed by decision can lodge a complaint against the dissolution decision before the VwGH (decision complaint according to Art 131 B-VG).
In practice, the dissolution of the municipal council is usually carried out in cases where the financial management of the municipality has led to an extraordinarily high level of debt or a threat to liquidity . In Styria, government commissioners for the dissolution of the municipal council were last appointed in Öblarn (2006) and Fohnsdorf (2010).
In such cases, an official from the municipal supervisory authority is appointed as government commissioner.
Administration and activity
The government commissioner has to take care of the day-to-day administration of the municipality and to regulate matters that cannot be postponed. In this context, “ongoing administration” means taking care of the regular administrative tasks of the municipality. Matters that would violate the law if not acted or that could cause damage to the community cannot be postponed. The authority of the government commissioner extends to both sovereign administration and private sector administration; as well as on the municipality's own and transferred sphere of activity. It is the government commissioner z. B. allowed to draw up a budget estimate or to take out a loan for ongoing operations.
The government commissioner is entitled to an expense allowance in the amount of the mayor's salary, which is to be borne and paid by the municipality. In view of the temporary nature of the government commissioner's office, the documentation of his work is of great importance.
Individual evidence
- ↑ VwGH (May 17, 1995, 93/01/0670)
- ↑ cf. § 11 Styrian municipal code
- ↑ § 103 Paragraph 1 Styrian Municipal Code
- ^ Government commissioner as municipal chief of the state of Styria, July 11, 2006
- ^ Fohnsdorf is under curation from Kleine Zeitung , December 15, 2010
- ↑ Hauer, in Klug / Oberndorfer / Wolny (eds.), Municipal Law , Part 17, Rz 255 ff.