A municipality (Albanian: komuna; Serbian: општина / opština) is the basic administrative division in Kosovo and constitutes the only level of power in local governance.[1] There are 38 municipalities in Kosovo; 27 of which have an Albanian ethnic majority, 10 Serb and 1Turkish. After the 2013 Brussels Agreement, signed by the governments of Kosovo and Serbia, an agreement was made to create a Community of Serb Municipalities, which would operate within Kosovo's legal framework. Since 2013, the agreement has not been fulfilled by Kosovo's authorities, calling upon its constitution and territorial integrity.
All municipalities have the following competences, as regulated by Law Nr. 03/L-040 of the Constitution of Kosovo:[12]
Local economic development.
Urban and rural planning.
Land use and development.
Implementation of building regulations and building control standards.
Local environmental protection.
Provision and maintenance of public services and utilities, including water supply, sewers and drains, sewage treatment, waste management, local roads, local transport and local heating schemes.
Local emergency response.
Provision of public pre-primary, primary and secondary education, including registration and licensing of educational institutions, recruitment, payment of salaries and training of education instructors and administrators.
Provision of public primary health care.
Provision of family and other social welfare services, such as care for the vulnerable, foster care, child care, elderly care, including registration and licensing of these care centers, recruitment, payment of salaries and training of social welfare professionals.
Public housing.
Public health.
Licensing of local services and facilities, including those related to entertainment, cultural and leisure activities, food, lodging, markets, street vendors, local public transportation and taxis.
Naming of roads, streets and other public places.
Provision and maintenance of public parks and spaces.
Tourism.
Cultural and leisure activities.
Any matter which is not explicitly excluded from their competence nor assigned to other authorities.
Community of Serb Municipalities
The planned Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo
Municipalities with Serb majorities have additional powers over the appointment of local police commanders, religious and cultural heritage sites within their boundaries; some of them have competences over universities and secondary health which in non-Serb-majority municipalities are a matter for central government (and, through the right of association of municipalities, even those Serb-majority municipalities which are not specifically given these powers may exercise them in association with those that do).
^ abcdDue to the boycott by most municipalities in the north in the 2011 Kosovo census, the exact number of the population of Leposavić, North Mitrovica, Zubin Potok and Zvečan is unknown. Estimates are taken according to a 2014 OSCE report.[8][9][10][11]
