The methodology of this study combines several research techniques designed to identify and as-sess abuse of power and of official positions in local government. The indicators developed to assess the effectiveness of these remedies fall into three main, interdependent groups: 1) citizen or client satisfaction with the public and administrative services provided by the local government; 2) degree of public trust in local government institutions and civic and electoral participation; and 3) types and ways of application of the various administrative remedies restricting abuse of power (Figure 1).
There are many different definitions and consid-erations of trust in the field of public management.
It can be accepted that trust has a positive effect on the parties involved in a relationship: it simplifies interactions and reduces the need for control (Hinna and Monteduro 2003). Studies (Gulati 1995) have identified two factors on which trust can based:
knowledge and deterrents.
In the first, experience is necessary for developing trust. Experience in this sense is based on the ob-servation of past behaviors of the subject. Experience can be based not only on direct contact, but also in-direct contact, by gathering information concerning relationships with third parties. Trust based on the power of deterrents is connected to the existence of contractual or external warranties, such as making it inconvenient for a partner to behave improperly.
As such, the existing conviction of some community members, based on direct or mediated experience, as to the degree of trust they can have in the public administration is as important as the presence of ex-ternal guarantees (or remedies, tools) against abuses on the part of the administration.
Other authors (Bouckaert, Van de Walle, Maddens, and Kampen 2002) examine in detail the relationship between trust in and satisfaction with administrative performance. Factors that impact the level of trust
relate to the performance of public service delivery, along with social and demographic factors and social capital. With regard to public services, citizens expect public servants to serve the public interest with fair-ness and to manage public resources properly on a daily basis (OECD 2000).
In this research, the level of trust in institutions and the level of satisfaction with the public services that they offer are used as markers to indicate the spheres where the public considers that administrative performance does not fulfill its expectations. The lev-els of trust and satisfaction also serve as indicators in evaluating the effectiveness of remedies against abuse implemented by the assessed institutions.
In short, the main objects of this study are:
administrative structures of local government that provide administrative servicing to citizens; custom-ers of administrative services (citizens and economic entities) and their opinions and evaluation of service quality; and the general public’s trust in local govern-ment and its work.
Data collection and evaluation required several different methods. First, this study involved desk research to review relevant documents and data sources.6 Documents included: legal texts and the legal framework; official accounting documents related to the organization and regulation of the work of local government and the provision of ministrative services; annual reports of various ad-ministrative bodies; reports from non-governmental organizations and policy institutes; and repealed administrative acts.7 These sources were reviewed and analyzed. Particular attention was paid to
exist-ing literature on accountability and transparency of the local government; reforms in local government;
civil involvement; raising the effectiveness of local administration; and initiatives aimed at reducing the level of corruption and abuse of power. Second, this study required in-depth field research. This involved personal semi-standard interviews with employees performing administrative services regarding the issu-ing of licenses, permits, and registrations (in the mu-nicipalities of Sofia, Plovdiv, Stambolijski, Kazanluk, Koprivshtitsa, Byala, and Devnya); e-mail interviews with representatives of 18 municipalities in relation to the practices for public consultation in the proc-ess of local planning;8 and observations. Observation was used as a non-invasive means of identifying and assessing administrative organizations and their ope-rational and functional structures, the functioning of the systems for control, and the available technical, human, and other resources.
The scope of the study does not include adminis-trative remedies against abuses in the field of munici-pal finances, due to the specificity of these issues and the number of topical analyses made in this sphere.
The issue of Bulgaria’s electoral system (the Law on Local Elections) is considered only with a view to outlining the legal framework of local government in Bulgaria.
The starting point of analysis is the new legal and organizational framework of the Bulgarian administrative system and the changes introduced in civil and administrative law and processes. These changes serve to create conditions for restricting abuses and unlawful exercise of powers; that said, it
Client Satisfaction Public Trust
Effectiveness of Administrative Remedies
Figure 1.
Cyclic Interdependence of Indicators
is important to recognize that reforms are on-going, and have not been completed. Thus, the realization of the planned goals, especially at the local level, is directly related to the need to strengthen the capacity of local administration for effective and uncontrover-sial application of the new legal framework.
In analyzing and formulating the proposed recommendations, we have accounted for the influ-ence of various mechanisms for restricting abuses in relation to the main types of administrative abuses that are being observed. We have identified the main reasons, participants, and mechanisms for commit-ting abuses in the local administration and as a result we have established the most effective approaches for applying administrative remedies for overcoming abuses. This study also considers the various sources of employees’ discretionary powers and the various forms of control on their application. The reasons that condition abuses of power include: ineffective control mechanisms or misapplication; lack of information in relation to citizens’ rights and the procedures for providing public services and taking of decisions;
complex procedures for appealing (administrative and court); normative anomalies; and (generally) the illegal, unethical, or inappropriate exercise of discre-tionary powers.
The designation of various remedies against abuse as “weak” or “strong” in Table 1 is made with the aim of clarifying the ordering of control remedies origi-nating from various sources. The assumption is that control over regulations exercised by institutions or courts at this stage of public administration reform and civil society development has more weight (or, is more effective) than the majority of forms of civic control. Without being exhaustive, several examples from the local authorities’ work in the country, re-ported on and commented on in the media over the last two years, support this thesis. The limited time for the current survey and the lack of exhaustive statistics prevented a more detailed study. An in-depth study of the weight of various control remedies is of vital importance for identifying opportunities for control-ling not only lawfulness, but also the purposefulness of local government actions and decisions.
Table 1.
Links between Types of Abuses and Remedies for Control9
Administrative actions defined as abuses Sources: Illegal, unethical, inappropriate exercise of discretionary powers Adoption or spread of
norms
Taking of decisions Failure to grant rights
Damages Actions of more general
effect
(predominantly damage public interests)
Individualized actions or actions of more general effect10
(damage individual and public interests)
Individualized actions (predominantly damage individual interests)
Remedies internal to administrative system
Strong Internal rules and procedures for (hierarchical) control; control by higher administrative instance
Weak Legal norms for civil control Remedies external
to administrative system
Strong Court control; institutions (ombudsman); access to information
• Electoral participation and electoral results;
• Ethical and professional codes;
• Legal norms defending public interests.
Weak • Study on satisfaction with provided services;
• Civic participation in the consultative process;
• Studies of research institutes.
There are a number of devices applied to enhance the accountability and transparency of local govern-ment work. These devices, however, should not be considered universal methods for overcoming abuses.
The study of corruption in public administration in Bulgaria and the development of counter-remedies in recent years are undoubtedly induced by the critical importance of administrative reform in the country.
Focusing on this, however, leaves aside areas that have a direct bearing on corruption as well as on other types of abuses, such as conflict of interest and the exercise of discretionary powers on the part of the administration.
To evaluate and analyze the effectiveness of ad-ministrative remedies against abuses, remedies are differentiated and separated into three groups. The first group includes remedies related to hierarchical accountability and general mechanisms for istrative and financial control in Bulgarian admin-istration. The second group includes procedures for judicial control over the work of local government bodies and their accessibility to citizens. The third group includes remedies with which the local authori-ties ensure feedback from and practical involvement of citizens in local governance and civil initiatives.
Based on research, this study offers practical recom-mendations directed at enhancing the effectiveness of the applied administrative remedies against abuses of power on a local level.
The analysis of the state and the recommenda-tions for enhancing the effectiveness of administra-tive remedies have been based on the understanding that more transparent governance, the provision of public services of a higher quality, the raising of the qualification and motivation of employees improved and the effectiveness of internal and civil control will ensure reliable defense against abuses. The proposed recommendations are directed at decision-makers at both the local and national levels.
* * *
This study develops the presented topic in two sections, with a conclusion. The first section presents a short description and historical background of state
and local administrations in Bulgaria. The second considers citizens’ evaluations of local governance through the notions of “public trust” and “client satisfaction” with the services provided by the local government. This section presents descriptions of the types of administrative remedies and the abuses they are designed to prevent. Next examines the existing mechanisms for performance control of local ad-ministration on behalf of the state and citizens, and practices for their application in the local administra-tion. The study examines the internal mechanisms for hierarchical control and accountability, the pro-cedures for administrative control by external in-stances, juridical control, and mechanisms to ensure transparency in the work of the local administration and civic involvement in the decision-taking process.
This study concludes with a consideration of the data presented by the first sections, along with policy op-tions and recommendaop-tions.
2. GOVERNANCE AND