The conglomerate community

The 12 July 1999 law for the strengthening and simplification of inter-municipal cooperation defines a conglomerate community as "a public establishment of inter-communal cooperation (EPCI) grouping several communes forming, at the date of its creation, a population of more than 50,000 inhabitants in an area of connecting municipalities without pockets of clear land, surrounding one or more communes containing more than 15,000 inhabitants"

Communes join together for solidarity and to develop and achieve joint projects in urban and rural development. Membership of a community depends upon mandatory skill transfers. Other skills, optional or discretionary, may be retained by the community.

On the 1st of January 2000 the seven communes forming Quimper Bretagne Occidentale were united as a conglomerate community.

On the 1st of January 2011 Locronon joined Quimper Bretagne Occidentale, bringing the number of communes making up the conglomeration to eight.

The population of this entity is 87,026 inhabitants (census of 2012).

Quimper Bretagne Occidentale must comply with the specialist principals, as do all EPCI (public establishments of intercommunal cooperation): it can only operate within the framework of available skills. In general, an EPCI is administered in the same way as a municipality.

The legislative body: the community council

The same rules governing the Municipal Council are applicable to the legislative body of an EPCI. The conglomerate community is administered by a board of community advisors. Up until now the community councillors have been elected by, and from the Municipal Council.

Now that the number of community advisors has risen from 43 to 48, the community councillors, representing municipalities of 1,000 inhabitants and more within the legislative bodies of the EPCI, are elected by direct voting during the municipal elections. This is the case for Ergué-Gabéric, Plomelin, Pluguffan, Plonéis, Plogonnec, Guengat and Quimper.

Votes are cast at the same time, and on the same ballot sheet, for elected officials of the municipality and those of the conglomeration.

Community council seats are divided between the different lists according to the same voting methods that apply to the election of municipal councillors. For each of the lists, seats are allocated in order of appearance by the candidates.

As Locronon has less than 1,000 inhabitants the community councillors are appointed by the Municipal Council: the Mayor and his deputy.

The President

The President is the chief executive of the EPCI. He prepares and executes the Community Council's deliberations. He is the authorising officer for expenditure and implements budget decisions.

He has sole responsibility for the administration, but may delegate by decree, under supervision, some of his duties to the vice-presidents or, in the case of absence or impediment to the latter, to other members of the agency.

He may also delegate his signing rights, under supervision, to the Director-General of services.

The Agency

The conglomerate community's agency is made up of the president, one or more vice presidents and possibly one or more other members. The president, the vice-presidential delegates, or the agency as a whole may receive community council deliberations delegating portions of the council functions.

The Quimper Bretagne Occidentale agency comprises the president and 12 vice-presidents. As with the municipal agency the community agency provides information and guidance and contributes to the forming of council agendas.