APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110016-6
but amalgamated all the other urban with the rural municipalities and reduced the total number from some 1,300 plus 88 to about 300. The number of provinces was reduced from 25 to 14. Henceforward, municipalities, now termed primary local authorities or communes (primaerkommuner), are all directly under the purview of the 14 provinces, which, in turn, answer to the central government.
The primary communes are governed as before, by a popularly elected council (kommunalbestyrelse), which, in turn, elects a mayor (borgmester). Nearest to the populace, this council evaluates property, determines individual ability to pay taxes, and collects national income and property taxes. Less onerous tasks include the administration of relief and social legislation, the supervision of local educational affairs, the building of local roads, and the preparation of voter lists for local and national balloting.
The provinces are governed pretty much as before by a popularly elected provincial council (amstrad) chosen by proportional representation which now, however, elects a provincial chairman (amtsborgmaster). The chairman assumes some of the executive prerogatives formerly exercised by the state appointed governor (Amtmand). Deprived of exclusive authority in certain purely provincial matters, the governor nevertheless remains. He is now a nonvoting member of the amtsrad, but still appointed for an indefinite term by the Council of State; he is a powerful monitor for the national government in all matters affecting the national interests.
The provinces are expected to assume, during the 1970s, some prerogatives heretofore reserved to the central government, notably in economic development and related schooling and in the administration of the comprehensive social services. The council meets four times a year, usually in public session, to prepare a budget, levy taxes, make appropriations, and scrutinize the work of a small group of paid administrative officials - all of this under the loose supervision of the Minister of Interior through his agent, the governor. A particularly important task for the provincial government is the control of matters relating to public health, including supervision of hospitals, a concern consistently dear to Danish hearts as reflected through the outlays for this purpose in the budgets. The building and maintenance of major highways also take a significant share of the provincial budget. An individual or organization has the right to appeal to the Minister of Interior concerning an act of commission or omission by regional authorities.
Just as the central administration monitors the province, the province monitors the communes, particularly in affairs relating to the purchase or sale of public properties, the borrowing of money, and any unusual increase in the local tax rate. Provincial school boards oversee a centralized school system.
Copenhagen, the national capital and several times over the largest city, has its own special brand of government. As in the case of the provinces, the governor of the city (overpraesident) is a civil servant selected by the national administration and approved by the Monarch. Unlike the provincial governor, however, Copenhagen's governor has been largely a figurehead since 1938 with only an advisory role.
The day-to-day work of coping with the problems of Denmark's sole megalopolis is carried on by a city council (borgerrepraesentation) and a many-headed executive council (magistrat). The 55-member city council, with representation from virtually every political movement of any size, is a legislature in miniature. Its members are elected by proportional representation and serve a 4-year term. Much of the work of the council is carried on in committees. The executive council consists of a chief mayor (overborgmester), five deputy mayors (borgmestere), and five councillors (radimaend), all chosen by the city council from outside its own membership for staggered 8-year terms. Prior to the reorganization of the city government in 1938, the executive council served both as a legislative upper house and as an executive hub. It has retained only its executive capacity.
The executive and city councils interact in much the same fashion as do the national Cabinet and parliament. Most draft city ordinances are proposed by the executive council. The city council fashions them into law. Members of the executive council have the right to participate in city council proceedings but may not vote. Any new taxes, loans, and real estate transactions require the approval of the Minister of Interior.
The chief mayor has responsibility for the supervision and coordination of the activities of the executive council and may temporarily postpone discussions by that body. He has charge of the city executive apparatus as a whole and supervises all general economic affairs. Other city affairs are sorted into five divisions, each headed by a deputy mayor. The five councillors have equal competence with the mayors during a formal meeting of executive council but have no decision-making powers outside that chamber.
Superimposed on the regular government structure are several other administrative grids, each representing special districts fashioned for the implementation of a particular national policy. These
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110016-6
