Regional Economic Communities

A business and community paradigm which is viable in the long-term – a concept worth living

Local authorities as investors for municipal functions

The council (local authority) is broke and can no longer run the town's indoor swimming pool. It neither wishes to close the swimming pool, nor to sell it to a private investor.

The local authority hands over the indoor swimming pool as a contribution in kind to the CPO and in return receives joint-ownership certificates of the community. It uses the certificates to get a credit range on its new Grok market account with the market community.

Via this account, the local authority can now for example pay for services from craftswomen which are necessary to repair the roof of a school. To generate income for the market account, it can offer public services (bus tickets, lending fees of the library, etc.) in exchange for Groks. It could possibly also accept payment for the business tax of the companies of the CPO fully or partly in Groks.

The CPO founds a new company (for example in the form of a social cooperative) to run the indoor swimming pool. Together with the new management of the swimming pool, dedicated citizens and external experts it works out a concept of how the swimming pool can be run in a long-term viable way. Possibly it can arrange for a local energy supply for the pool, and the services required for the renovation are remunerated through joint-ownership certificates of the community.

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