The representatives of the newly formed AHs took part in the first module of events called “Operational planning in AH: methodological recommendations” in order to support newly established hromadas during the first year after elections. The event was organised by the Sumy Local Government Development Centre, established with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe programme and MinRegion.

On 29 October the elections were held in 9 amalgamated hromadas of the Sumy Oblast. Now there are 28 of them in the oblast. The new hromadas were established in 6 rayons of the oblast – the Buryn (Buryn city AH), Konotop (Dubovyazivka rural settlement AH), Nedryhayliv (Korovyntsi village AH), Okhtyrka (Komyshi and Chernechchyna village AH), Putyvl (Nova Sloboda village AH), Sumy (Verkhnya Syrovatka village and Stepanivka rural settlement AHs) and Trostyanets (Trostyanets city AH) rayons.

Experts of the Sumy LGDC – legal counsel Maryna Lobova and decentralisation advisor Dmytro Lukyanets – conducted field seminars for newly elected deputies, representatives of rayon, city, village and rural settlement councils, communal enterprises, etc. They were familiarised with the peculiarities of holding the first sessions and legal aspects of reorganisation of local self-government bodies. Particular attention was paid to the issues of regulations, organisation of the activity of the council and permanent deputy commissions. The experts also told about how to form executive committee and structures of the executive bodies of the AH council.

The training was constructed in the form of a dialogue. The representatives of the hromada took an active part in the discussion. Dmytro Lukyanets noted: “The main task of these seminars is to give maximum information to newly elected deputies and heads in order to prepare them for the effective work in new conditions, as well as to offer them a necessary algorithm of work”.

According to Maryna Lobova, the issues the participants of the seminar were mostly concerned about were as follows: the legal status of the acting starostas (acquiring of the powers of an official, remuneration); execution of notarial actions on the territory of the AH (primarily, rural settlements AH); procedure for the transfer of communal institutions from the joint ownership of rayon hromadas to the AH; personnel changes in communal institutions; formation of educational space; electronic declaration; provision of administrative services to the population; formation of the 2018 local budget; procedure of a special inspection of local self-government officials; conflict of interests in the activities of local self-government bodies; registration of financial documents of councils, that are joining AH.

Representatives of the AH local self-government bodies face a need for expert and informational support of their work, since they have had no previous experience of such work before, the specialist emphasised.

Training and counseling provided by the Sumy LGDC experts should help the representatives of local self-government bodies of AHs to conduct all preparatory procedures in accordance with the legislation so that hromada can start to work efficiently.