Description

As the national government of Romania continues to decentralize public functions from national to local governmental units, these local governments are undergoing a major assessment of the relationship of the citizen to the elected official and local government bureaucracy. This assessment involves no less than a profound change in the manner in which elected officials and local public administrations approach and serve their citizens.

Recognizing that Romanian local governments needed assistance in the transition from centralized government to more local control and, in particular, needed help and advice in establishing the "citizen component" in local government, the U.S. Agency for International Development began to provide training in public administration to local governments in 1995. Chemonics International, through the United States Agency for International Development, has provided the technical assistance for this local government initiative, including training in local government budgeting and finance, economic development, service to citizens and citizen participation.

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