The New Safety Regions And The Impact On Public Management
Risks are present in every society. These risks can endanger the safety of people and goods. A lot of risks are more or less accepted because a society without risks seems to be impossible. When, due to these risks, a crisis or disaster occurs, citizens expect appropriate actions from the government. These actions must be focused on fighting the disaster and must resolve the situation within a reasonable time frame.
Until 2010 local governments in the Netherlands were responsible for the preparation of crises and disasters. In 2010, according to the law regarding the safety regions, these responsibilities were transferred from the local level to the regional level of government. In Dutch this is called a safety region. A safety region is a cooperation of the public management of villages and towns regarding crisis and disaster management within this region. The main goal of establishing this law was to increase the level of quality and preparation of the public services in relation to crises and disasters. There are currently 25 safety regions in the Netherlands.
From the perspective of the Dutch government this is remarkable because this regional management level is not recognizable within the layers of traditional Dutch government structures. The three traditional layers within the Dutch government, as drawn by Thorbecke in the 19th century, are local government, provincial government and national government. Dutch local governments are very autonomous and hold great influence over local policy issues within their own territorial area. A safety region is a functional sectorial public government layer which is divergent from the traditional Dutch government layers.
The accomplishment of a safety region which takes over tasks of the local government has consequences for the form and structure of this local government. These consequences regarding form and structure within the local government can be regarded as a public management reform.
To gain more knowledge about this public management reform I performed academic research in relation to this topic in 2012. The question I tried to answer was: “What kind of public management reform is recognizable within villages and towns as a result of the implementation of the law on the safety regions, and what influence does this reform have regarding the safety concerns of the citizens?”.
A few conclusions can be drawn from this research, some of which I will describe below. It seems difficult for the local government to translate the safety concerns of the citizens in local safety policy. The four year local safety policy is related to the local political climate. The result of political influence is continuous changes regarding the safety policy of local governments. These changes make the execution of effective safety policy very tough. All actions target the effectivity of the policy so fewer actions focus on efficiency and scope in relation to the policy. In times with decreasing government budgets it seems necessary to change focus to efficiency rather than remaining focused on the effectiveness of the continuously changing safety policy.
Increasing the power of public services by cooperation between local governments is not lucrative for all of the participating villages and towns. It is necessary to make agreements between governments within a cooperation and to converge safety policies. Local governments that cooperate are responsible for the financing of the safety region. For some of these local governments the costs for financing the safety region are higher than the former costs of financing a local fire department, but they do meet the necessary requirements regarding local crisis and disaster management.
The influence of local governments in relation to the policy of the safety region seems to have decreased. This is not remarkable because in the past local governments were accountable for their own policy. Due to the large number of participants within a safety region, the degree of influence by the local government has not only decreased, but has also become more complex. Opportunities to increase influence for the local government exist when a new four year policy is introduced; and with the proposal for the yearly budget regarding the safety region (Dutch financial laws).
As a result of the research accomplished, some recommendations have been made. When followed, these recommendations can help the local government take better notice of the safety complains of the citizens, increase the influence of local government on safety policy, and to maintain the policy regarding political issues so efficiency and scope in relation to the policy can expand.
If you are interested in more information regarding this issue I would like to recommend my research (in Dutch): “Hervormingen binnen het Lokaal Bestuur naar aanleiding van de invoering van de Wet Veiligheidsregio’s”
Until 2010 local governments in the Netherlands were responsible for the preparation of crises and disasters. In 2010, according to the law regarding the safety regions, these responsibilities were transferred from the local level to the regional level of government. In Dutch this is called a safety region. A safety region is a cooperation of the public management of villages and towns regarding crisis and disaster management within this region. The main goal of establishing this law was to increase the level of quality and preparation of the public services in relation to crises and disasters. There are currently 25 safety regions in the Netherlands.
From the perspective of the Dutch government this is remarkable because this regional management level is not recognizable within the layers of traditional Dutch government structures. The three traditional layers within the Dutch government, as drawn by Thorbecke in the 19th century, are local government, provincial government and national government. Dutch local governments are very autonomous and hold great influence over local policy issues within their own territorial area. A safety region is a functional sectorial public government layer which is divergent from the traditional Dutch government layers.
The accomplishment of a safety region which takes over tasks of the local government has consequences for the form and structure of this local government. These consequences regarding form and structure within the local government can be regarded as a public management reform.
To gain more knowledge about this public management reform I performed academic research in relation to this topic in 2012. The question I tried to answer was: “What kind of public management reform is recognizable within villages and towns as a result of the implementation of the law on the safety regions, and what influence does this reform have regarding the safety concerns of the citizens?”.
A few conclusions can be drawn from this research, some of which I will describe below. It seems difficult for the local government to translate the safety concerns of the citizens in local safety policy. The four year local safety policy is related to the local political climate. The result of political influence is continuous changes regarding the safety policy of local governments. These changes make the execution of effective safety policy very tough. All actions target the effectivity of the policy so fewer actions focus on efficiency and scope in relation to the policy. In times with decreasing government budgets it seems necessary to change focus to efficiency rather than remaining focused on the effectiveness of the continuously changing safety policy.
Increasing the power of public services by cooperation between local governments is not lucrative for all of the participating villages and towns. It is necessary to make agreements between governments within a cooperation and to converge safety policies. Local governments that cooperate are responsible for the financing of the safety region. For some of these local governments the costs for financing the safety region are higher than the former costs of financing a local fire department, but they do meet the necessary requirements regarding local crisis and disaster management.
The influence of local governments in relation to the policy of the safety region seems to have decreased. This is not remarkable because in the past local governments were accountable for their own policy. Due to the large number of participants within a safety region, the degree of influence by the local government has not only decreased, but has also become more complex. Opportunities to increase influence for the local government exist when a new four year policy is introduced; and with the proposal for the yearly budget regarding the safety region (Dutch financial laws).
As a result of the research accomplished, some recommendations have been made. When followed, these recommendations can help the local government take better notice of the safety complains of the citizens, increase the influence of local government on safety policy, and to maintain the policy regarding political issues so efficiency and scope in relation to the policy can expand.
If you are interested in more information regarding this issue I would like to recommend my research (in Dutch): “Hervormingen binnen het Lokaal Bestuur naar aanleiding van de invoering van de Wet Veiligheidsregio’s”
