Slovenian municipalities, like the rest of European municipalities, face different challenges in managing local public affairs. Some of them are able to tackle obstacles on their own, while others need help. Lack of financial resources and understaffing lead to insufficient capacity to carry out the relevant public tasks independently. In such cases, municipalities opt for inter-municipal cooperation. This is an efficient way of cooperation where municipalities pool their financial resources and share management costs. Municipalities opt for inter-municipal cooperation for tasks that require a more complex approach to problem solving. The thesis examines different forms of inter-municipal cooperation in Europe and Slovenia, mainly focusing on the economic advantages and disadvantages of joint municipal administration in the field of inspection and security. The theoretical part presents inter-municipal cooperation in Slovenia with a comparison of inter-municipal cooperation practices in Europe. The empirical part of the thesis analyses the economic advantages and disadvantages of the selected inter-municipal inspectorates and securityof the Municipality of Celje, the Municipality of Braslovče, the Municipality of Laško, the Municipality of Polzela, the Municipality of Štore, the Municipality of Tabor, the Municipality of Vransko and the Municipality of Žalec. The results of the survey show that there are more economic advantages than disadvantages to joint implementation of inter-municipal inspection and security. There are several benefits for the municipalities, including cost reduction, increased professionalism and a good organisational structure of the municipal administrations. These benefits have a positive impact on the long-term financial stability of smaller municipalities. The thesis concludes with conclusions and recommendations for further improvements of inter-municipal cooperation in Slovenia. The thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the importance of inter-municipal cooperation for the development of local self-government, as cooperation contributes to the sustainable development of Slovenian municipalities.
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