The full-scale war in Ukraine changed the conditions for our cities to function to a great extent. Not only did the security and financial environment change, but also the organizational one. City councils had to deal with new tasks like creating commissions to inspect the destroyed property, developing lists of collective centers for displaced persons, and setting criteria to distribute humanitarian aid.
Moreover, cities also faced their pre-war tasks, for example, e-tools development. Under frequent shelling, their use mitigates security risks for people.
To facilitate the process of developing solutions for local self-government bodies (LSGB), we at Transparent Cities Program selected standard templates of certain important documents. We used the experience of Ukrainian cities, as well as the recommendations of National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, Association of Ukrainian Cities, and Decentralization government portal as an example.
The templates in question cover 7 areas, namely:
- housing policy and municipal property;
- anti-corruption strategies;
- accessibility and involvement;
- e-solutions and tools;
- personnel policy;
- renaming toponyms;
- social sector.
In the housing policy and municipal property sector
- Regulations on the public commission on housing issues.
The commission registers citizens and establishes the order for obtaining accommodation units, as well as their distribution. In the context of war, when the homes of 3.2 million citizens have been destroyed or damaged, the commission activities are as relevant as ever since they allow the public to monitor the process of municipal housing distribution.
We used as a template the documents issued by the Ivano-Frankivsk City Council.
- The procedure for granting consent for the permanent improvement of non-residential premises.
Business relocation, damaged premises repairs – all these issues are particularly acute during wartime. City authorities should have a document setting the key stages and specific features of improvements to be made by the tenant (redevelopment, major repairs, or restoration aimed at improving the physical/technical state of the property in question). Such actions allow the tenant to get reimbursement if the improvements increase the market value of the property or apply for the re-purchase of the premises.
We used as a template the documents issued by the Rivne City Council.
- Regulations on the commission responsible for the inspection of buildings and facilities that were destroyed or damaged following the military aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine and the Premises Inspection Report.
As of the end of the winter 2023, about 153,860 housing units were damaged or destroyed. An executive body of the city council is responsible for considering requests for destroyed property indemnification. It also establishes a Commission to consider issues on indemnification payment, which determines the damage caused + issues related inspection reports.
We used as a template the documents issued by the Okhtyrka City Council.
In the access and participation area
- Regulations on Budget hearings
Nowadays, city councils allocate a lot to repairs of social and critical infrastructure facilities. Moreover, the cities will have to deal with reconstruction and restoration issues. The said processes are impossible without communication with the public. It is the dialogue that allows the authorities to prioritize expenses and determine key requests. Budget hearings are one of the communication tools.
We used as as a template the documents issued by the Ternopil City Council.
E-solutions and tools area
- Regulations on the procedure for general electronic enrollment of children in preschool education institutions
Millions of displaced people have left their homes and are forced to search for new jobs, as well as educational institutions for their children. Education indeed is one of the dozens of problems that displaced people have to worry about. Thus, electronic tools facilitate their access to educational services.
We used as a template the documents issued by the Vinnytsia City Council.
- Regulations on the tender procedure related to temporary or mobile structures
Electronic tenders related to the sale of rights to place temporary structures and facilities of seasonal trade increase the transparency of property management, mitigate corruption risks, and increase revenues to local budgets.
We used as a template the documents issued by the Ternopil City Council.
Personnel policy area
- Instruction on appointment to a position omitting competitive selection.
The legislation prescribes that during the martial law officials of local self-government bodies and civil service should be appointed omitting competitive selection. The related decision on employment is issued by the city mayor.
We used as a template the documents issued by the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service.
In social sector
Russian military aggression was followed by a major migration crisis in Ukraine for all the years of its independence — 5.4 million Ukrainians became internally displaced persons. While seeking refuge in safer regions, Ukrainians need humanitarian aid, housing, and integration into community life.
Moreover, many people nowadays require social assistance, namely, that can be provided via social service procurement.
Martial law also imposes certain restrictions, among others, on free border crossing. It is the local self-government bodies that establish the facts of care provision to persons with disabilities (group I or II), which ensures permission to travel abroad.
- Regulations on the social service procurement procedure.
We used as a template the documents issued by the Khmelnytskyi City Council and Association of Ukrainian Cities.
- Regulations on drawing up an document establishing the facts of care provision to persons with disabilities (group I or II) and persons requiring constant care.
We used as a template the documents issued by the Khmelnytskyi City Council.
- Support programs for IDPs.
We used as a template the documents issued by the Kropyvnytskyi City Council.
- Procedure for humanitarian aid provision.
We used as a template the documents issued by the Fastiv Town Council.
- Provisions on the collective centers for internally displaced persons (hereinafter referred to as the CC IDPs)
We used as a template the documents issued by the Boiarka and Bolekhiv Town Councils, Decentralization government portal.
Renaming toponyms area
- Regulations on renaming toponyms
During the war, the need to cut all the ties with the Russian imperial influence, which is also manifested via our toponyms, is increasing. The processes of urban space decolonization in the cities have already started. To regulate the mechanisms and stages of renaming, we recommend the city councils to adopt the related regulations and also study our Guide to the Decolonization of Ukrainian Cities :)
We used as a template the documents issued by the Mykolaiv City Council.
Anti-corruption strategies
According to a sociological survey conducted by the research agency Info Sapiens for Transparency International Ukraine, corruption is one of the top three problems (along with war and destruction). The legislation stipulates that local self-government bodies should ensure conditions for whistleblowers to report possible facts of corruption or corruption-related offenses and other violations of the legislation in question.
- Procedure for processing corruption reports
We used as a template the documents issued by the Lviv City Council.