Goteborg

Submitted by Nathalie on Wed, 11/11/2015 - 13:52
Goteborg
Part 1

1st part: listing of documents

Deadline: 30 November 2015

1. Accounting and financial framework of local governments in your country:

  • Accounting classification of local governments
  • Local and regional authorities code, when available
  • (or detailed laws on decentralization, laying down the municipal system, jurisdiction legislation…)
Please click on the links below for further details:
http://skl.se/tjanster/englishpages/municipalitiescountycouncilsandregions/swedensdemocraticsystem.1301.html
http://skl.se/tjanster/englishpages/municipalitiescountycouncilsandregions/theroleofthemunicipalities.1302.html
http://kommuninvest.se/en/

2. All documented related to the main challenges the municipality is facing:

  • Existing large scale planning schemes

    (Master Plan, Local Economic Development Plan, or any document linked to the municipality planning strategy)

  • Any existing contractual agreement with the State for the development and upgrading of local equipment
To understand the City it is important to know about the structure of the companies owned by the municipality. See annual report 2014. http://finans.goteborg.se/en/english-financial-information/

Budget (MasterPlan) for 2016 (works fine with Google translate): http://goteborg.se/wps/wcm/connect/1f4c98e6-9def-4be8-a30e-08272ef6f7da/Forslag+goteborgs+Stads+Budget+2016_S_V_MP_FI.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

Budget (Master Plan) for each Company are available on the website. I will guide you.

http://international.goteborg.se/

3. Fiscal and Financial documents:

  • Administrative Accounts (with annexes)
  • In local currency for the past 3 years (2014 – 2013 – 2012), including outstanding debt (breakdown by amounts and debtors)
  • Forecast budget for 2015 (with annexes)
  • Subsidiary budgets
  • Any document/inventory of local tax bases
  • Costs accounts by industry segment/economic sector
  • Report of the last debate over budgetary guidelines, or any other document drawing up the priorities and evolutions of the financial situation of the municipality (if available)
  • Multi-year Investment Plan, or similar document for investment programming
Budgets and Annual reports are available on the each website.
http://arsredovisning.goteborg.se/2014/block-4-sammanstalld-redovisning-finasiell-analys-och-rakenskaper/koncerner-och-bolag-i-siffror/

4. Documents related to land use requirements:

  • Land use Plan, local urban planning scheme, urban mobility plan, and the procedures for amending those plans; inventory of vacant lots.
  • Legal frameworks of public intervention tools, if they exist (expropriation, pre-emption, Declaration of Public Utility…) and of public acquisition/transfer of land/real-estate.
Information about cityplanning:
http://goteborg.se/wps/portal/enheter/fackforvaltning/stadsbyggnadskontoret/!ut/p/z1/lVLRbpswFP2WPuQ1vthJgEcIKYM1SkmgCbwgQ4yDSuwIu8nWr5-ptrVbNSW7smT7-pzr4-OLCrRDhaDnllPdSkE7s8-LWYmnXxMfxwRW90kAOL33nh7TB3-aYbS9BijMMfwjPPjFJ5vJYhMY_mwSQJQ4j8TZWHhD7Df-1fthDonjWx6EmWtDFGNvmVkrKwR8I_8vWf4a-wQgXF3lP6ECFbXQJ31AOZeaVbLnY8VKJg5MK9XuZT8Ck6OiVW-ujqCh9XMj-zPttGgFpwagNN2r6jvnwszPUmjZMz0C2utSGCHlSXamRvkRVsqjVKqkvapYT7VmnWKDmBfFAtbQl04HTNUohyF5qtu9WWLHhcaBSUX31HWIg4ntzsiUASWAG-tPesq-6Z_02ihiQkfB-oYiMSp4JyvTPVsf5Xa8sxaXoZE8URGHo6JnDetZPz5IpdHucrmMuZS8Y8Y1lJvvsN_9Dr-kFmASuQ9hHAEOMNoMcrbzZZlki7VBf35t_vkF-X_pv92u-Gp3zX8bcDpmJo4OGUa5bMlr6vnT82vk3d39AKxp81Q!/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/?useDefaultDesc=0&useDefaultText=0&contentIDR=02890f804bada98382379635e0a302f1

5. Documents that characterize the organization and financial situation of your municipality:

  • General organization chart of the municipality
in particular of the Municipal Finance Department (if available, with current staffing and levels of competences – engineers/technicians/…)
  • Satellite structures, companies or institutions under the supervision or with a share owned by the municipality
  • Role, shareholding, total revenue
  • PEFA assessment and financial rating (if available)
  • Listing of on-going large scale urban development schemes
See documents/links above.

6. Does the municipality have:

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Project 1
x
Other
Specify:a
1996
1996
Other
Other
Project 2
y
Other
Specify:b
1996
1996
Other
Other
Project 3
z
Other
Specify:c
1996
1996
Other
Other
Project 1
x
y
Project 2
1
2
Project 3
3
3
I look forward to explain the answers and discuss your questions in the direct phone call.
Part 2

2nd part: questionnaire

Deadline: 20 December 2015

Profile

1.1. Socio-economic characteristics

1. What are the main areas of activities within the jurisdiction of the municipality, and how did this evolve over the past 20 years (industry sector, natural resources, main companies, real-estate buildings and financial transactions…)?

http://www.businessregiongoteborg.com/2.12ab74f104757e46e280000.html

2. What is the population within your jurisdiction, according to the last census, and what is its evolution over the last 20 years (+ foresight for the coming years, if possible)

http://www4.goteborg.se/prod/G-info/statistik.nsf

3. Are there any studies on the socio-economic breakdown of the population and on inequalities within the territory ? Are some neighborhoods a priority in terms of basic utilities?

Attach, if possible, a map of the municipality, including topography, built-up areas (and their evolution), functions (city center, residential areas, touristic, industrial zone), socio-economic classification of residential areas and main infrastructures.

http://www4.goteborg.se/prod/G-info/statistik.nsf

4. What is the unemployment rate, and does it reflect the statistics that you see on a daily basis?

http://www4.goteborg.se/prod/G-info/statistik.nsf

5. How important is the informal sector in the economy?

X
X

6. Share of the population with access to basic services: (in %)

100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
No

7. Are there any key historic trends or any specific characteristic of the city that may seem significant to you to explain the current situation ? (social unrest, political crisis, natural disasters, conflicts….)

X

8. Has the political leadership been stable over the last 5 years? If appropriate, what are the most recent breaking points? 

Stable.

1.2 Legal framework and distribution of powers

1. In your opinion, are the texts on the distribution of powers and responsibilities between levels of governments precise and readable? Specify your answer (please attach, if available, a table with the roles and powers of each one) 

http://skl.se/tjanster/englishpages/municipalitiescountycouncilsandregions.1088.html

2. Are some responsibilities within the municipality jurisdiction exercised in practice by the national level, and which ones? How is the arbitrage made?

http://skl.se/tjanster/englishpages/municipalitiescountycouncilsandregions.1088.html

 3. Please list the services within your municipality’s jurisdiction (and please specify their management mode, and since when) 

http://skl.se/tjanster/englishpages/municipalitiescountycouncilsandregions.1088.html
http://skl.se/tjanster/englishpages/municipalitiescountycouncilsandregions.1088.html
http://skl.se/tjanster/englishpages/municipalitiescountycouncilsandregions.1088.html
http://skl.se/tjanster/englishpages/municipalitiescountycouncilsandregions.1088.html

4. Has there been an assessment of the costs of devolved responsibilities? 

X

5. In your opinion, does the employment area match with city limits? 

No

6. Is your municipality part of an inter-municipal structure?

No

Are some public services such as public transportation, water, sanitation, waste management, etc, managed collectivelly by a dedicated entity, and which part of the municipal budget is transfered to this structure ? How is organized its governing body ?

X

7. Are investments that fall within municipal jurisdiction effectively realized under municipal project supervision?  Or is the State often at the same time decision-maker, funder and operator?

Municipal Project Supervision

8. Does your municipality have to support charges associated with non-residents? Could you assess the costs supported by your municipality?

X
Territorial organization

This part of the questionnaire examines the territorial policy led by the municipality (how it is driven, based on which information and by who), as well as the characteristics of the land and real-estate market. It will allow us to have an overview of the impediments as well as the opportunities as regards land valuation.

2.1 Territorial division and inter-municipal coordination

1. How important is the perimeter of land registration, of the cadastral plan?

X

2. Is there a planning agency (municipal, inter-municipal, regional) that provides data on the municipality? If yes, who supervise it, and how would you describe your relationship with this agency? 

http://www.lantmateriet.se/en/
http://goteborg.se/wps/portal/invanare/bygga-o-bo/!ut/p/z1/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfIjo8ziAwy9Ai2cDB0N_N0t3Qw8Q7wD3Py8fSyMzU30w8EKDFCAo4FTkJGTsYGBu7-RfhQx-vEoiMIwHtki_YLc0FAAqfnVyg!!/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/

http://www.businessregiongoteborg.com/huvudmeny/establishmentinvestment/landdatabase.4.63092c2611d1e3d623080003616.html

3. Is there a land agency, or similar type of agency ? If yes, who supervises it, and how would you describe your relationship with this agency?

http://www.lantmateriet.se/en/
http://goteborg.se/wps/portal/invanare/bygga-o-bo/!ut/p/z1/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfIjo8ziAwy9Ai2cDB0N_N0t3Qw8Q7wD3Py8fSyMzU30w8EKDFCAo4FTkJGTsYGBu7-RfhQx-vEoiMIwHtki_YLc0FAAqfnVyg!!/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/

http://www.businessregiongoteborg.com/huvudmeny/establishmentinvestment/landdatabase.4.63092c2611d1e3d623080003616.html

4. Has the municipality designed public policies to anticipate or limit urban sprawl? - For instance, through specific priority development zones?  And through programming the funding of the necessary investments (mobility, access, connection to networks)?

X

5. Is the municipality responsible for creating the budget allocated to environmental conservation and/or has it made forecasts on this matter ?

X

2.2 Land and real-estate market

1. What share of the population lives in informal neighborhoods (slums and non-formal shelters)?

X

2. Is there a customary tenure? If yes, how important is it on the territory?

X

3. Are public entities (including the State, local governments, etc.) important landowners? If yes, which entities? Is this land generally used, or are there many plots potentially available?

http://www.businessregiongoteborg.com/huvudmeny/establishmentinvestment/landdatabase.4.63092c2611d1e3d623080003616.html

4. Are there major private landowners? Please identify the main ones.

X

5. What is the formal process of buying and selling land or public property? 

X

6. Are there alternative processes (more or less formal)? If yes, could you please describe them and if possible, quantify them (% of total transactions) 

X

7. Are there very often disputes over land?  Who are the typical participants in such a dispute?

X

8. Are there any incentives to formalize the inhabitants living in informal conditions? If yes, please specify.

X

9. Has there been recent reforms or evolutions related to property, land price or to the role of public stakeholders?

X
Dialogue State/Local government/Population

3.1 Dialogue and support between the Central State and the municipality

1. Are there national policies for updating and developing local utilities ?

2. Do you have regular exchanges with national and deconcentrated authorities as regards your city’s utilities, finance…? 

X

3. At the national level, what are the terms of dialogue on local finance, through for instance a National Committee on Local Finance ? Or through another entity that allows the municipality to exchange and compare itself with other local governments within the country (e.g., a National Observatory on Local Finance)?

X

4. Is the State facilitating your access to diverse sources of financing?

No
No
X
X
X

3.2 Public participation

1. Is debate over budgetary guidelines held annually?

X

2. Are neighborhood meetings held on a regular basis? 

(Please specify the number of participants, if minutes are made public, etc.) 

X

3. Do other consultation mechanisms as regards the city’s revenues and expenditures exist, for instance participatory budgeting?

4. In the framework of urban development and land valuation operations, are users' associations or owners associated with the negotiations?

Analysis of the local budget

4.1 Fiscal management

1. Key ratio

Years:Year N-3Year N-2Year N-1Year NYear N+1Year N+2Year N+3
Debt repayment capacity: outstanding debt/ gross savings
Gross savings rate : gross savings / current revenue
Own revenues (without grants) / operating revenues
Investment without debt / operating revenues
Staff costs / operating revenues
Outstanding debt / operating revenues
Debt annuity (annual repayment in capital and interest) / operating revenues
Total actual expenditures relative to initially approved budgets
Collection ratio
Level of arrears on expenditure

2. Overall fiscal risk oversight attributable to other public sector entities

3. Is budget planning conducted with a multiannual perspective? If yes, what are the terms?

4. What are the main investments conducted by the municipality (type / industry / project / amount) over the past 5 years?

5. What are the main assets among the land and real estate property of the municipality that generate resources? Could you please describe how these assets are managed (how rents and fees are set and updated, what’s their share in the municipality total revenues). Do you know the total cost of this management (regular inventory of the city’s properties, updating, follow-up of rents and occupancy charges…)? 

6. What kind of technical assistance support the municipality in its financial management, if any (public accountant, consultant, software,..)?

7. Are there mechanisms of administrative and financial recourses? If yes, please specify.

8. In your opinion, how could the financial management of the municipality be improved?

4.2 Capabilities and skills of the municipal financial department

1. Financial service staff ratio (number of agents/ number chiefs of services):

X

2. Is there a concrete training program dedicated to the staff of your department? 

X

3. What is the level of computerization of your department, and what is the capacity of your staff for the use of technologies such as Geographical Information Systems, open data inventories, etc?

4. In your opinion, what are the priority needs as regards training and capacity building of the staff of your department ? Please specify. 

(Computer skills, local taxation, land-based finance,  treasury management and monitoring of financial instruments, access to loans and capacities to formulate funding proposals, public tenders, delegation of public services, monitoring PPPs…) 

4.3 Levels of fiscal autonomy as regards resources

1. What is the importance of financial transfers from the State as regards local devolved responsibilities? Are these transfers predictable on a regular basis? 

Please list the various types of transfers.

Transfer 1
Transfer 2
Transfer 3

2. Please list the taxes and fees on which the deliberative assembly within your local government has power (power to create taxes, to modify tax rates and tax collection):

NameLocal power to create new taxesMargin of discretion on rates (please give a range)Tax collection:
XNo0-1Local government
dd t

3. Regarding taxes collected by decentralized services:

4. Do local public services generate user fees (specify which ones) ? To what extent do these fees cover for the cost of provision of services?

5. Whenever basic services are not managed directly by the municipality, is there a continuous financial follow-up of their operation?

6. Could you please list one or several new and innovative types of financing used within your municipality?

Green Bonds, first city in the World to issue a green bond (september 2013).

7. Could you please describe the financial strategy of your municipality over the past 3 years, and for the next 3 years? Please specify if you defined it in joint-collaboration with the central government, and under which terms?

Part 3

3rd part: questionnaire

Deadline: 30 January 2016

This part of the questionnaire aims at analyzing in concrete terms the projects conducted by the municipality, in order to bring out the key factors for success, the triggering factors and the impediments to the mobilization of local resources.  

To this end, we will look at: 

  • 3 significant projects completed by the municipality (cf questionnaire 3.1)
  • 3 projects still awaiting for funding (cf questionnaire 3.2)

The decision-making processes for each project will be analyzed, from the diagnosis of the needs to the use, effective or potential, of specific financial instruments to successfully conduct these projects.

Questionnaire 3.1

Project 1

1. Nature of the Project

 Project description:

2. Project design

1. Was the project initiated by the central government or by the local government itself, and what motivated this initiative?

2. Was the project rooted in the urban development plan of the municipality ? Was it part of its multiannual investment planning?

3. Have ongoing monitoring and evaluation studies been conducted to assess the project’s impact?

4. Have there been feasibility studies and impacts studies, environmental, economic, fiscal (including operating costs and revenues)? If yes, who conducted them (independent consultant, public agency,…)  

5. What financial criteria have been taken into account? (investment profitability, environmental costs, recurring operating charges induced by the equipment, additional administrative workload…) 

6. Does the project generate financial revenues? If yes, how are fees set?

3. Project funding

1. Total budget of the project and funding plan

2. What are the main challenges the municipality encountered to mobilize those funding?

3. What was the provisional budget of the project, and did it match with the final cost? If not, what were the additional costs and cost overrun?

4. What financial instruments have been used?

Access to borrowing

1. What type of bank has lended to the municipality? 

2. Did this institution provided technical support?

3. In your opinion, has the support from the institution during the whole borrowing process been satisfying? If not, please specify.

4. What are the characteristics of the loan(s) (rate, duration, guarantees)?

Recourse to land and real-estate valuation

1. Did the municipality use land and real-estate valuation mechanisms (sale of public lands, purchase/sale of land, sale of usage rights, building rights, taxation…)?

2. Please specify, for each mechanism that has been used, the order of magnitude (land perimeter, purchase/sale prices,…), the implementation process, the negotiations…

3. Does the municipality use these mechanisms on a regular or exceptional basis?

4. Have the objectives been reached? What impediments have been encountered? How have they been overcome (or not)? What are the limits for the use of such mechanisms? What did it teach you, and what would be the conditions for its replicability? 

5. Do you know how have the nominal prices of land/real-estate within and around the project perimeter during its implementation? If yes, how would you explain these evolutions (overall inflation phenomenon, inflation linked to this specific investment, to other related investments, to regulatory changes, to property legalization? 

6. How have the resources generated been allocated between the various stakeholders? 

Public Private Partnership contract

1. What are the partners involved? Please list them with their responsibility.

2. How did the negotiation process and the sharing of risks proceed? What have been the necessary adjustments to involve the private partners? (Increase of fees, compensations for social tariffs…)

3. Did the private partner provide technical assistance? Please describe.

4. Are the terms of the balance of the contract respected ? Are there any financial loss for the municipality?

5. What is your general opinion on this kind of partnership?

Grants and subsidies

1. Through which mechanism/ specific fund could the local government get access to funding? 

2. Did the donor provide technical assistance/training?

3. In your opinion, what are the strengths and weaknesses of this particular type of  financing?

4. The negotiation process

1. In your opinion, was it difficult to lead the project politically ? (Legitimacy of the project pilot, majority in the municipal council, political shifts, consistency with the higher levels of government…)

2. Was there any political forces (lobbying) or social movements (social outburst) that influenced the funding process? Please specify.

3. What have been the main stakeholders involved?

4. What were the terms and mechanisms of dialogue between the various stakeholders?

5. Was the population regularly informed about the project? If yes, please specify.

6. Generally, what have been the specificities of this project that we should consider? What were the key factors for its completion? How can this project be informative for other municipalities in similiar political environments?

Questionnaire 3.2 – Projects awaiting funding

Project 1

1. Nature of the Project

Project description:

2. Project design

1. Was the project initiated by the central government or by the local government itself, and what motivated this initiative?

2. Was the project rooted in the urban development plan of the municipality? Was it part of its multiannual investment planning?

3.  Have studies been conducted, particularly by independent agencies, to assess the accuracy of the project’s needs relative to the population anticipated to be served?

4. Have there been feasibility studies and impacts studies, environmental, economic, fiscal (including operating costs and revenues)? If yes, who conducted them (independent consultant, public agency,…)?

5. Have there been feasibility studies and impacts studies, environmental, economic, fiscal (including operating costs and revenues)? If yes, who conducted them (independent consultant, public agency,…)?

3. Project funding

1. Have you already drafted a preliminary budget for the project, and what if the share of municipal funding in the total funding ?

2. What are the main challenges you are facing to mobilize those fundings?

4. Which financial instruments can be used?

1. Referring to the table of instruments available on the website, which of these instruments are you considering using, and why?

2. What are those that you could technically use, but that you are not practically considering implementing, and why?

3. What are those that seem of interest to you, but whose use would require preliminary reforms (at the national and local levels)?

4. In your opinion, what are the assets and impediments of the political leadership of this project? (Legitimacy of the project leader, majority in the municipal council, political shift, in line with the State party majority…)? Are there political (lobbying) or social forces (social outburst) that influenced the project?

5. What are the stakeholders already involved in the project, and what are the information and concertation mechanisms in place?

6. In general, what are the main challenges, impediments, assets, and specificities of this case that we should consider?

7. What kind of support do you expect on this project: from the experts? From your fellow financial directors from other cities? From technical and financial partners?