Municipalities Turn up Their Nose to Municipality Reform

Local councillors and leading civil servants give national municipality reform a score of 6,1 on a scale from 4 to 10 (10 being best). Central cities respond to the reform more positively than the surrounding and rural municipalities. Civil servants are more critical about the reform than local councillors. The municipalities are willing to hold on to their own growth potential. Instead of actively seeking consolidation of municipalities, growth is sought as an independent municipality with simultaneously intensifying cooperation with other municipalities.

These facts are revealed in a national municipality survey conducted by MDI in September 2014. The online survey was sent to 9 826 local councillors and leading civil servants, of which a total of 2 363 responded representing 288 municipalities (out of 320 in Finland). The response rate was 24 %.