Buzău Mayor: "Administration Reform is Just a Makeover”

Criticism of the current coalition's reforms is increasingly coming from within. The mayor of Buzău, Constantin Toma, believes that the measures proposed by the Social Democratic Party regarding public administration reform do not represent a real change, but only a "makeover” of the system. According to the mayor, the real reform should begin with the administrative-territorial reorganization of Romania, the only measure capable of generating significant budgetary savings. Constantin Toma stated that not even Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's proposals can be considered reformist, and the announced staff reduction will not produce significant effects. "It's not a reform, but a cosmetic one. If we apply a 45% reduction, nothing changes in Buzău. We already operate with a personnel deficit. The only ones affected could be the local contractual police officers, if the rule of one police officer per 1,200 inhabitants is applied. In that case, we would have to lay off approximately 187 local police officers," the mayor explained to Agerpres. The mayor stressed that the measures proposed at the central level do not touch the core of the financial problems of local administrations: "About 75% of the city halls will not lay off anyone. The proposal means, on average, only four fewer people per UAT, which is insignificant. Only 25% of the city halls provide their own money for salaries. The rest depend on the central budget and, in addition, the taxes increased by 70-75% from January 1st do not go to development, but also to salaries."

• "The real reform must be an administrative-territorial one”

Constantin Toma argues that Romania needs a reorganization of the territorial structure, not just specific cuts in personnel or positions. "The real reform is the administrative-territorial one, which would truly reduce expenses. The current system was designed under communism, when there were CAPs, IASs, shops and libraries in every village. We have remained with the same structure, although in the meantime we have joined the European Union. We are the only state that has not made any reforms, and we have even multiplied the number of localities - communes transformed into cities, villages transformed into communes - many of them very small and economically unviable,” declared the mayor of Buzău. He also criticized the excessive politicization of local administration: "The main boast of a party leader is how many mayors he has. But what does that help us with? It only means more public spending. That is the harsh reality: the reform has not started, and what is being proposed now is just a facade adjustment.”

• PSD accepts limited job cuts

The mayor's statements come after Lia Olguţa Vasilescu, a member of the PSD leadership, announced on Monday that the party agrees to a 30% reduction in the total number of jobs, but no more than 20% of the positions actually occupied in the public administration.

The measure is part of the administrative reform package discussed within the governing coalition, but is criticized by some mayors and analysts for the lack of a structural vision regarding the efficiency of the public apparatus. The theme of administrative-territorial reorganization periodically returns to political discourse, but no government in the last 30 years has had the courage to implement it. Romania still operates according to the county structure established in the 1960s, with over 3,000 administrative-territorial units, many of which are unable to financially support themselves.