GUIDELINES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SPECIAL LOCAL

Abstract

The goals of the research on the guidelines for developing the municipality into a special locality are threefold: first, to examine the issues surrounding the need to change the Laem Chabang City Municipality's status to that of a special locality; second, to examine the guidelines for turning the municipality into a local special form; and third, to investigate the views of the general public regarding turning the municipality into a special local form. This study is qualitative by design and is based on records and interviews with residents of the Laem Chabang Municipality as well as local administrators, council members, and government employees.

The study's findings indicate that the following issues must be addressed in order to change Laem Chabang City Municipality's status to a special local form: issues with legal authority and law enforcement, issues with income and budget management, and issues with public service management in industrial areas, ports, and communities.

Four strategies were identified as guidelines for creating the Laem Chabang City Municipality as a unique type of municipal government:  1) The government needs to prioritize giving local administrative groups true decentralized power. It is imperative to release local government entities from legal pressure and provide policy stability. 2) The Laem Chabang Municipality needs to focus on advancing and forcing itself into a unique type of localization. 3) Laws and regulations need to be strengthened to enable the management of the expanded region while also being appropriate and consistent with the times. 4) People need to understand their rights and benefits as residents of a unique city and possess a strong sense of community.

Views of the public regarding the transformation of municipalities into unique local forms. It was discovered that people have ideas about the issues and barriers that the Laem Chabang Municipality faces in providing public services. These issues and barriers include broken roads, heavy traffic, waste management, undocumented populations, slum neighborhoods, flooding, and inadequate public utilities. Pollution from ports and industry, internal agency corruption, poor public relations and information dissemination, sluggish agency work, a dearth of field visits to provide care for individuals and communities, and a lack of funding for Laem Chabang City's municipal administration. Regarding the advantages that people will experience as a result of this unique localization strategy, they include the collection of taxes for local development and the suitable and regional solution of community issues improving public health, strengthening the local economy and making investments in the future, attaining better public services, resolving issues jointly with the local community and the municipality, encouraging involvement in the management of local issues, and improving the environment, economy, and society within the Laem Chabang Municipality area.