Bayerisches Landesportal: Modern Administration

Modern Administration

© istock.com / Izvorinka Jankovic

A modern administration must be what the people expect it to be: competent, approachable and efficient. The authorities must be increasingly geared to becoming a ‘service station' for the population; that is the key to an administration that is citizen-friendly and focussed on providing a service. Citizen-friendly means - among other things - fewer regulations, shorter distances, more services from the same department.

A lean administrative structure and a concentration on essentials mean better service and tangibly less pressure on people and on businesses. Since 1994 people having houses built for them in Bavaria have saved more than 140 million Euros in fees due to the new simplified planning permission laws. If someone wants to start up a business in Bavaria, they can arrange to be accompanied by a state procedural organiser and so get their operating licence quicker and more easily.

But the best permit is still the one you don't need. That is why Bavaria has reduced the number of laws and regulations by approximately 25 per cent in the last five years. Deregulation has become an important location factor for social prosperity and jobs. Bavaria has set itself the goal of becoming the state with the fewest regulations.

eGovernment

The shortest route to administrative offices is via the data highway. More and more services provided by the authorities in Bavaria can be accessed comfortably from home and round the clock via the Internet. This saves time and money and meets the needs of individuals and of companies. In the guide to authorities in Bavaria up-to-date contact details for all the state and local authorities can be accessed electronically. More than 900 different services, from flood alarms to a high-definition digital cadastral map are available here at a mouse-click. The Bavarian eGovernment Initiative is constantly expanding the range of administrative services that can be dealt with completely online. Examples of this are the electronic tax return ELSTER, the public awarding of construction contracts, or the land register and summary proceedings. An eGovernment portal is currently being prepared in order to provide a standardised platform enabling individuals and businesses to reach all the services offered by the state and the local authorities in Bavaria via one central access. The motto is: "The data should be in motion, not the people."

Budget without New Debts

Sustainability is not just an ecological term in Bavaria, it is a central principle in all areas of politics. That is why Bavaria is the first state in Germany not to make any new debts in 2006. Fewer debts mean less interest and therefore permanently more money available for the important tasks in Bavaria. Bavaria has the lowest per capita debts and one of the highest investment rates of all the territorial states in western Germany. Stable state finances are a long-term guarantee that the state will remain competitive and are part of an equitable generation contract. In his government statement at the start of the legislative period 2003-2008 the Bavarian Prime Minister Dr. Edmund Stoiber said: "We save money because we do not want to leave our children with oppressive debts and interest repayments. We do not want to raid the bank accounts of our children and grandchildren.

Expenditure in the 2006 Bavarian state budget in millions of Euros

Per capita debts of the territorial states in Western Germany in Euros