On the Midsummer Day people complained in the town of Ukrainka

The domestic legislation in the sphere of the local self-government does not comply with the European Charter which was ratified in 1997 by the Verkhovna Rada. This is stated in the resolution of VI Annual Conference of Small Towns of Ukraine that was held in the town of Ukrainka of the Kiev region on 6-7 July, exactly on the Midsummer Day.

Out of a wide range of problems the participants highlighted the following:

- Inadequate budget allocation which puts governments of small towns on the brink of functional paralysis;

- Limited powers in land management;

- Imperfect tax legislation which does not allow territorial communities to form their own tax base through local taxes and fees;

- The crisis of communal infrastructure, threatening deterioration of the housing stock.

Yuriy Potashniy