Local Administration

The Law of the local public administration no. 215 from 23 April 2001, regulates the general system of the local autonomy and the authorities of the local public administration and was published in the no. 204 of the Official Monitor of the Romania in 23 April 2001.

In the administrativ-teritorial units, the public administration is organized and function respecting the principles of the local autonomy, public services descentralization, local public administration autorities eligibility, legality and consulting the citizens regarding the solving of the local problems with a particular interest.

Local autonomy means the rights and the capacities of the autorities of the local public administration to solve and administrate the public problems in the name and in the interes of the local community which represents and respecting the laws.

This right are execitate by the local councils mayors, county councils and the autorities of the local public administration choosed through universal vote, equal, direct, secret and free expresed.
The local autonomy is only administrative and financiar and is exercite respecting the laws.
The local autonomy regard only the organiation, the function, the competences and atributes and the administration of the resources that belong to the town, city, village.
The competences and the atributes of the local public authorities are established by law. This components are entirely and exclusive, whithout the cases mentioned by law.
The local autonomy give the authorities of the local public administration the right to have initiative in all the domains / fields, in the law limits, whithout those domaines that are controled by other public authorities.

The authorities of the local public administration exercise this components and attributes established by law and are close to the citizens.
The authorities of the local public administration which realize the local autonomy in the commune and towns are the local, communal, town councils, as deliberative authorities, and mayors, as executive authorities. The local councils and the mayors are choose in the circumstances mentioned in the Law of the local elections.
The local councils and the mayors are authorities of the local public administration and resolve the problems of the communes and towns respecting the law.

The mayor, the local and county councilors are elected from the local people. In assuring the free control / exercise, they have a function of the public authority and benefit of the dispositions of the penal law regarding the persons that have a function which imply the state authority.
The mayor , local councilor and county councilor mandate is for 4 years in the law conditions.
In the purpose of assuring the local autonomy, the authorities of the local public administration have the right to put local taxes, to make and to approve budgets of the communes, towns and counties respecting the law.
(Excerpts from The Public Local Administration Law, no. 215/2001)

Mayor Office

Lupeni Town Hall
Address: 2 Revolutiei Street
Phone: 0254/560 725; 0254/560 504; 0254/560 680
Fax: 0254/560 515
E-mail: primarialupeni@comtrust.ro

Town Hall
The Town Hall represents the executive body. The Mayor is the head of the local public administration. The Local Council can hold the Mayor responsible for a well functioning local public administration. The Mayor represents the village or the city in his relations with physical and juridical persons from the country and from outside the borders of the country. Moreover, the mayor represents the city in court.
The mayor of Lupeni is Cornel Resmerita.
Office of the Mayor

The Mayor's Responsibilities

The Mayor has the following responsibilities:
· He ensures that the fundamental rights and the liberties of the citizen, the Constitution, the laws of the state, the decrees of the President of Romania, the Government decisions, the papers issued by ministers and other authorities of the central public administration and the decisions of the County Council are abided by;
· He ensures the implementation of decisions adopted by the County Council;
· If he thinks that a Local Council decision is illegal he has to announce the Prefect within three days since he acknowledged it.
· He can propose referendums for important issues to the Local Council, and he has to organize the referendums if the Local Council approves them;
· He drafts the local budget proposal and the balance of closure of the budget and submit them to the Local Council for approval;
· He exercises the rights and fulfills the responsibilities of the city or village in its quality of juridical civil person;
· He ensures the public order through public guards and with the help of the gendarmerie, police, firemen and public defense. The latter have the duty to respond to his requests, provided that they are within legal frame;
· He exercises control over commercial activities, public alimentation and services, within the law's boundaries;
· He takes measures towards the suspension or interdiction of public shows or other public manifestations that contradict the legal order or are contravene to the public morals or public order;
· Controls the hygiene of public locals and of alimentary products put on commercialized for the population with the support of the specialized institutions;
· He distributes social homes on the criteria approved by the Local Council;
· Ensures the maintenance of the public roads of the village or city, provides proper signalization (road signs) and ensures the normality of the traffic;
· He oversees the fairs, market-places, and amusement parks and takes operational measures for their good functioning;
· He leads the public local services including the civilian status services and child care;
· He oversees the observance of the social assistance, social care and child care laws
· He appoints and dismisses from function the City-Hall personnel except for the secretary;
· He proposes the dismissal from function of the heads of the commercial and public institutions that are under the authority of the Local Council;
· He controls the activity of the City-Hall personnel.
The mayor has other attributions as enumerated in the Public Administration Law no. 215/2001 or as entrusted in him by the Local Council.

Local Council

The Local Council is the authority of the Local Public administration. The City Council is the local government legislative body that is elected in a general election to represent the city citizens in the governing of the city. The Local Councils of the villages and towns as well as those of the administrative-territorial divisions of Bucharest are composed of local councilors elected through universal, equal, direct, secret and freely expressed vote, within the conditions imposed by the Law concerning local elections.

The City Council has legislative power in all issues of local interest. The Council cannot make decisions matters where the decision power is granted by law to other local or national public institutions.

A councilor's mandate expires before the usual duration, in case of:
· Death;
· Resignation;
· Incompatibility;
· Change of permanent domicile in another administrative-territorial division;
· Unmotivated absence from more than 3 council meetings;
· The impossibility to exercise one's duties for more than 6 months;
· After the validation of mandates a definitive judicial decision rules that during the election process a fraud or any other event contrary to the Law regarding local elections has occurred;
· Definitive judicial decision sentencing the councilor to loss of liberty;
· Commitment to an institution due to mental debility or alienation or in case of loss of electoral rights.

Local Councillor Function

City Councilor are voted into the Council via a universal, secret vote, in accordance with the laws pertaining to local elections.
The City Council has legislative power in all issues of local interest. The Council cannot make decisions on matters where the decision power is granted by law to other local or national public institutions.

Mode of Operation of the Local Council

The Local Councilors are elected for a 4 year term of office. The Local Council is operational from the date of its creation until the next Local Council is declared legally created.
The Local Council meets on a monthly basis, at the Mayor's request. It can also meet at any other date at the Mayor's request, or if at least two thirds of the Local Councilors request a meeting. In case of emergency the convocation of the Local Council can be done at once.

The agenda of the Local Council Meetings must be made public through any media services available.
The Local Council meetings are public except for the cases when it decides, with majority of votes, that the meetings should be done behind closed doors.

The problems regarding the local budget, the public and private domain administration, the participation to local, regional, zonal or international development programs, the urban development issues, as well as those regarding the association and cooperation with other public authorities, NGOs, public or private institutions and individuals, will always be discussed in public meetings. On these specific issues the mayor can ask for a referendum.

The Local Council can take decisions based on the vote of the majority of the present members, unless the law or regulations request another type of majority.
The decisions regarding the local budget, the public and private domain administration, the participation to local, regional, zonal or international development programs, the urban development issues, as well as those regarding the association and cooperation with other public authorities, NGOs, public or private institutions and individuals, will always be adopted with a majority of two thirds from the total number of Councilors.

The decisions regarding the local budget as well as those concerning local taxes are also adopted with a majority of two thirds of the total number of Councilors.
The resolution drafts can be submitted either by the mayor or by one of the councilors. The one that submits the proposal drafts the text, aided by the secretary and the specialized services within the City Hall.

The compliance with the resolutions with local law character is mandatory; they become so as soon as they are brought to public knowledge. The individual resolutions become mandatory from the date they are communicated to their object. The publication of the resolution is made five days after it is sent to the Prefect's Office.

During their term of office the Local Councilors are serving the local community, therefore, the Councilors have to organize regular meetings with the citizens and have specific days in which they have to be open for the public. Each Councilor, as well as the Deputy Mayor have to make an annual report of their activities, which has to be made public by the secretary.

All the Councilors are responsible for the Local Council's activity. Each Councilor is responsible for his or her activity, as well as for the resolutions they voted for.
After it's coming into office, the Local Council organizes its own committees, each dealing with a specific field of the Council's responsibilities. The Deputy Mayor is the only exception to the aforementioned rule.

The Committees analyze and approve the resolution drafts concerning their responsibilities.

Source: DEEP