Act on Municipalities (GemG) - Municipalities (GEMG)

1. This Law Applies to

1. Political Municipalities;

2. School Districts;

3. Citizens' Municipalities.

1. The existence of the Political Communities listed in the annex to this law is guaranteed within the framework of the Constitution.

1. The entirety of eligible voters is the supreme body of the municipality.

2. The eligible voters express their will in the municipal assembly, insofar as a ballot referendum or ballot election is not prescribed.

1. The eligible voters have the following rights

1. Enactment or amendment of the municipal order;

2. Changes in the composition or area of the political municipalities, excluding border adjustments;

3. Election of the chairperson(s) of the municipal authority;

4. Election of the other members of the municipal authority;

5. Election of the municipal parliament, if provided for by the municipal order;

6. Election of the audit commission;

7. * ...

8. Approval of the budget and determination of the tax rate;

9. Approval of the annual financial statement.

2. The municipal order can delegate matters in accordance with Sec. 1 Nos. 6 to 9 to the municipal parliament.

1. The municipal code determines the further responsibilities of the eligible voters.

1. The Municipal Assembly shall be convened by the municipal authority if

1. the affairs require it;

2. one-fifth or a smaller portion specified in the municipal regulations of the eligible voters request it in writing and state the reasons to the municipal authority.

1. The dispatch of the invitation to the municipal assembly shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the municipal code, but no later than 14 days before the assembly.

2. The agenda items and, as a rule, the motions of the municipal authority shall be announced with the invitation.

1. The chair of the municipal assembly is held by the president of the political municipality or the president of the school or citizens' municipality.

2. The chairperson may expel participants who disrupt the orderly conduct of the assembly after issuing a warning.

3. The chairperson is entitled to dissolve an assembly if the orderly conduct cannot be guaranteed.

1. Upon the opening of the meeting, the vote counters shall be elected.

2. The chairperson shall inquire about any objections to

1. the invitation to the meeting;

2. the voting eligibility of participants;

3. the agenda.

1. The conduct of the meeting is governed by the agenda.

2. Every person entitled to vote who participates in the meeting may submit motions on agenda items.

1. Motions concerning non-scheduled matters may be declared significant by a simple majority of the voters.

2. Motions declared significant are referred to the municipal authority for examination and reporting.

3. The municipal code determines the deadline within which a motion must be submitted for voting.

1. The municipal code may subject matters assigned to the eligible voters to a ballot vote.

2. If all matters assigned to the eligible voters in a municipality are subjected to a ballot vote, a municipal assembly cannot be convened. In this case, the municipal code must grant the right of initiative according to § 13.

1. Votes and Elections are Governed by the Law on Voting and Electoral Rights (StWG)

2. The municipal authority may conduct consultative referendums on matters within the competency of the municipality. For these, the Law on Voting and Electoral Rights is not binding. Legal recourse is excluded.

1. The municipal code may provide that one-fifth or a specific smaller portion of eligible voters can request the enactment, amendment, or repeal of regulations or resolutions that are subject to mandatory or optional referendums.

2. Additionally, the provisions of the Cantonal Constitution (KV) and the Law on Political Rights (StWG) concerning procedures for popular initiatives shall apply mutatis mutandis.

1. Municipalities may establish a parliament with at least 20 members.

2. The municipal code regulates the number of members, the electoral procedure, and the jurisdiction.

1. The municipal parliament shall adopt its own rules of procedure and constitute itself.

2. The members of the municipal authority shall participate in the meetings with an advisory vote and the right to make motions.

1. The municipal code determines the resolutions of the municipal parliament that are subject to compulsory or optional referendums. The budget must be submitted to at least an optional referendum.

2. A request for holding a referendum is valid if one-tenth of the eligible voters, or a smaller portion set in the municipal code, demand the referendum.

3. The municipal code may provide for a governmental referendum.

1. The municipal code determines the number of members of the municipal authority.

2. The minimum is five members.

1. The Government Council regulates the commencement of the term of office.

1. Upon taking office, the newly elected members of the municipal authority are to be provided with the documents in an organized manner.

2. A protocol is to be drawn up for the transfer of office of the chairpersons of the municipal authority.

1. The municipal authority manages all municipal affairs, insofar as they are not assigned to another body by the municipal code or other superior law.

2. The municipal authority represents the municipality externally.

1. In political municipalities, the municipal clerk participates in the meetings with an advisory vote and the right to make motions.

1. The municipal authority manages the municipal budget.

1. The Government Council issues regulations concerning the accounting of municipalities.

1. The audit of the annual financial statement and the accounting records is the responsibility of an independently administered audit commission.

2. The commission is entitled to request the submission of books and records and all information deemed necessary for a proper audit. It specifically has access to the state tax table and the arrears list, but not to the tax files.

1. Political municipalities may organizationally establish administrative areas as municipal enterprises.

1. Political municipalities may assign municipal tasks to public-law corporations, institutions, or foundations.

2. The budget is governed by the regulations concerning the accounting of the municipalities. The ordinance may provide for its own depreciation rules.

1. The political municipalities may transfer municipal tasks to private law enterprises.

2. They may participate in such enterprises.

1. The transfer of municipal duties to public or private law enterprises must be regulated in writing through a contract.

2. Existing relationships without written contracts must be regularized within five years of the enactment of this law. If no written contract is concluded within this period, the department shall issue the necessary orders.

1. The municipality may retransfer duties if the company agrees or if the fulfillment of the duties is no longer guaranteed.

2. If no agreement is reached regarding the transfer of facilities and rights, the provisions concerning expropriation shall apply.

1. The eligible voters of a newly to be formed municipality can adopt the municipal code before the competent cantonal authority decides on the formation of the new municipality.

2. The election of the municipal authorities takes place after the decision of the competent cantonal authority but before the new formation comes into effect.

1. The municipal authority decides on boundary adjustments.

2. The government council can order boundary adjustments against the will of the involved municipalities if there is a public or surveying interest and no municipality is significantly disadvantaged.

1. In the absence of applicable cantonal regulations and if the municipalities do not have their own provisions, the regulations for state personnel shall apply mutatis mutandis to municipal personnel.

1. Certain enforcement tasks may be delegated to commissions or the municipal administration for independent execution, provided that superior law does not prohibit this.

1. Minutes must be kept of the proceedings of the municipal assembly, the municipal parliament, the municipal authority, and the commissions.

2. The minutes must at least include

1. Place and time of the proceeding;

2. Name of the presiding person;

3. Number of attendees, and for meetings of the municipal authority and commissions, the names of the attendees;

4. Agenda items;

5. Observance of recusal;

6. Resolutions, and in the case of votes and elections, also the results;

7. For municipal assemblies and parliamentary sessions, a summary of the proceedings as well as the motions and names of the proposers.

3. The minutes of the municipal assembly and the public sessions of the municipal parliament are public.

1. The municipality maintains an archive.

2. ...

**1. Municipalities may cooperate to jointly fulfill their responsibilities and particularly:**

1. Form associations of municipalities;

2. Enter into contractual agreements among themselves, with the canton, as well as with other public or private legal entities and institutions;

3. Participate in enterprises.

1. The Executive Council may require municipalities to enter into contractual collaboration if the fulfillment of a specific task cannot otherwise be ensured.

2. The Executive Council shall set a deadline for the municipalities to draft a cooperation agreement.

3. If no agreement is reached within the deadline, the Executive Council shall issue the necessary directives.

1. The association of municipalities is a public-law corporation for the fulfillment of specific municipal tasks.

1. In addition to the minimum content required by § 39 of the Introductory Act to the Swiss Civil Code (EG ZGB), the bylaws shall regulate

1. the number of delegates and their votes;

2. the convening of the delegates' assembly;

3. the composition of the board;

4. the amount from which a new expenditure is subject to an optional referendum;

5. business reporting and information to the public;

6. conditions for withdrawal.

2. The bylaws must be approved by all participating municipalities and corporations.

1. Amendments to the statutes are decided by the assembly of delegates. They require the approval of two-thirds of the votes.

2. Undertaking a new task requires the consent of all municipalities and corporations.

1. The bodies are at a minimum

1. The entirety of the participating municipalities and corporations;

2. The assembly of delegates;

3. The board of directors;

4. The audit office.

2. The statutes regulate the composition, election, and powers of the bodies.

1. The Optional Referendum within the Jurisdiction of the Association is Subject to Decisions of the Delegates' Assembly Concerning

1. New expenditures exceeding the amount stipulated in the statutes;

2. Increase of the amount relevant for the optional referendum.

1. The referendum may be requested by

1. the authorities or boards of a quarter of the association's members;

2. one twentieth of the association's eligible voters.

2. The proposal is accepted if the majority of the voters and the association's members agree.

3. The provisions of the StWG for referendums in municipalities apply accordingly.

1. If the statutes do not establish other principles for budget management, the budget shall be governed according to the regulations concerning the accounting of municipalities.

1. Inter-cantonal purpose associations may be subjected to the law of another canton by their statutes, provided the Thurgau municipalities are in the minority.

2. The approval of the statutes by the government council is reserved.

1. In each political municipality, there exists a maximum of one citizen's municipality. This takes the name of the political municipality.

2. Members of the citizen's municipality include the male and female municipal citizens residing in the political municipality who possess the right of share in the citizen's assets.

1. If multiple civic communities exist within a political municipality, they are required to merge.

2. The merger shall take place within twelve years

1. from the enactment of this law if multiple civic communities already exist at that time;

2. from a subsequent change in the composition or territory of the political municipalities.

3. If no merger occurs within the specified period, the governmental council shall issue the necessary directives.

1. Changes in the membership of the municipal communities require the approval of the government council.

1. The administration and use of public property shall be based on its yield capacity while preserving its substance.

2. The municipal code establishes the further principles of administration and use.

1. Any citizen of a Political Municipality who resides therein may acquire the entitlement right from the respective Civic Municipality.

2. The purchase fee amounts to CHF 1,000 unless the municipal assembly decides on a lower fee or waives the fee altogether.

3. The acquisition of the entitlement right by spouses and children who have reached adulthood of eligible persons is governed by the municipal ordinance.

4. During the transition period according to § 48 para. 2, the entitlement right can be acquired, at most, in one Civic Municipality within the Political Municipality, depending on choice.

1. Jurisdiction Lies with the Department Concerned

The jurisdiction lies with the department whose area of responsibility is affected.

1. Eligible voters or affected parties may file an appeal for violation of superior law against

1. Generally binding decrees of all municipal bodies;

2. Resolutions of the supreme municipal bodies in individual cases that are not appealable decisions within the meaning of the Law on Administrative Justice (VRG).

2. Otherwise, the provisions of the Law on Administrative Justice apply.

1. The department shall initiate a regulatory investigation based on a supervisory complaint, a report, or ex officio.

2. Insofar as orders or omissions by municipalities cannot be reviewed within the framework of ordinary legal proceedings, the department may

1. issue directives to the municipality if there is an unlawful situation or essential public interests are violated;

2. take substitute measures.

3. The municipality shall be given the opportunity to rectify the shortcomings on its own.

1. Regulations of the municipalities require approval, insofar as this is provided for in the constitution or a law.

2. Regulations requiring approval may be submitted to the department for preliminary examination.

1. The municipalities shall amend their municipal regulations to the extent that they do not comply with the provisions of this Act, within three years of its entry into force.

1. The municipal code may provide that individual parts of the municipality are entitled to a certain number of seats on the municipal authority.

2. This regulation is limited to the current term of office at the time of the merger and the two subsequent terms.

1. In municipalities with seat entitlements, the provisions regarding the majority voting procedure apply with the following restrictions

1. Persons from the entitled part of the municipality are considered elected, even if they would be excluded as surplus despite achieving an absolute majority under the majority voting provisions, insofar as the entitlement would otherwise not be upheld.

2. If not enough persons from the entitled part of the municipality achieve an absolute majority, a second election round takes place. If the seat entitlement is still not fulfilled, the persons from the entitled part of the municipality with the highest number of votes are considered elected.

3. If a seat entitlement cannot be fulfilled due to refusal of election, it lapses for the third election round.

1. This law shall enter into force on a date to be determined by the Executive Council.