History

Establishment

The founding session of the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities of FPRY was held in Belgrade on April 21/22 in 1953, which adopted the Decision on establishment and the Statute, and elected bodies. The session also adopted the Decision on entering the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA), founded in 1913 at the initiative of the Belgian National Association with the same motive and principles.

On that occasion, special attention was drawn to the fact that during the old Yugoslavia, from 1927 to the beginning of World War II, the Association of Yugoslav Towns existed and functioned with the principal aim to fight the central government in favour of local government. To the same end, the Conference was founded, and it may be interesting to note that the adequate name for the organisation of Yugoslav towns and municipalities could not be found for long time to match completely its nature and goals. The original idea was that the name itself should express freedom not to choose attitudes and conclusions originating from joint consultations and at the same time stress the continuity of sharing practices. Hence the name the Standing Conference, not the union, association or some other name that might symbolize more solid or obligatory forms of associating. These principles upon which the Conference founded its work from the very beginning were new, courageous, deeply democratic, and progressive at the time, and greatly remained such to the present day.

In its first Statute (confirmed by then-National Assembly) the Conference proclaimed the principles of voluntary membership, equality of all members - large and small municipalities and towns- association and co-operation on the sole basis of independently assessed own interest. The basic principle of the function of all bodies and meetings of the Conference was that of agreement and understanding, consultation without imposing decisions and conclusions of any forum upon members. In a word, the Conference was not conceived as some `higher authority` above its member towns; it never presented itself as such, and it is sure to remain such in future.

Early years


From the very beginning, annual sessions of members, conferences and other broader meetings were, apart from the Presidency and standing boards' sessions, the most important forms of the work of the Standing Conference as a consultative organisation of Yugoslav towns. In addition, publishing was developed intensively, comprising publishing books, magazines, bulletins; various forms of individual-direct assistance to members were being provided, such as providing answers, information and other services; international relations and collaboration were developed with numerous national and international local authorities organisations in order to share practices, etc.

In the early years, the SCTM sessions were held twice a year, which later changed to once a year, and as of 1964, every alternate year. The sessions always dealt with topical issues considered to be of crucial importance for towns and municipalities at the time.

At the 6th Assembly In 1956, the Association changed its name into the Standing Conference of Yugoslav Towns. It has had its present name of the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities of Yugoslavia since the 22nd assembly held in 1978.

Over the years, the SCTM has gained the reputation of an institution that recognizes the problems municipalities face and represents the interests of its members before competent bodies. As an example of this, the National Assembly of the former SFRY has regularly consulted the SCTM when deciding on local government issues.

Apart from developing its political influence, the SCTM has put a lot of effort in communicating with the membership and in developing international cooperation. Publishing was regarded as one of the principal tasks of the association. Komuna Monthly Magazine, numerous thematic publications, and translations were published for the purpose of more in-depth informing of towns, municipalities, and broader public on all aspects of complex problems significant for local authorities.

From 1960 to 1990, the association had a staff of more than 30 people. It was financed mainly through membership fees and the incomes from Komuna Magazine. A smaller share of revenues was provided by public enterprises through technical support to the SCTM sections.

During the 1990s


The 1990s being the times of strong centralization of power and stripping municipalities of their competencies, brought about substantial changes in circumstances to municipalities and the SCTM which was no longer able to provide municipalities with numerous basic services.

At the same time, some changes crucial for the whole country and particularly for local government were taking place on the political scene in Serbia and Montenegro. In this respect, 1996 was a turning point not only for towns and municipalities but for the whole society as well. The regime was caught stealing the votes the opposition won in the elections. The elections results were recognized after a long protest and the Association of Free Towns and Municipalities (SSGOS) was founded as a political response to the regime and to be an institution of municipalities that were in the hands of the opposition. SSGOS was officially recognized in 1998, following a long registration process. The founders of the association were leaders of 35 towns in which the opposition won the elections (approximately 60% of the population). The Mayor of Niš, Mr. Zoran Živković, was elected president of the SSGOS.

From 1996 to 2000, the regime was trying to jeopardize the opposition, including the SSGOS, in every possible way. Every day they were referred to as foreign servants, traitors, non-patriots, etc in the press, on television and on the radio. There were minimal opportunities to respond to these accusations. The opposition put great effort to govern successfully the towns in which it had come to power despite difficult conditions and the centralization of the whole country.

Following the 2000 elections


The 2000 elections were followed by a process of merging the SSGOS and SCTM. At the 1st working session held on October 31, 2000, the leaders of the two associations reached an agreement on joint operation, that is, on including SSGOS in SCTM as a national association of local authorities in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

SCTM called a session of the Presidency on 14 November 2000 for the first time after a period of several years' adjournment. XXXI SCTM Assembly was held on 14 June 2001 and elected new SCTM bodies. The Mission Statement and SCTM Strategy were also adopted on that occasion and six boards founded. Henceforward, the Conference intensified its activities, particularly through the operation of the boards, projects with foreign partners, by renewing co-operation with international organisations, providing services to municipalities and representing their interests.

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