Maardu, a promised town of city officials
18.11.2009, 09:23The small town of Maardu with only 16,000 people just outside Tallinn is a textbook example of a wasteful local government.
Äripäev writes that, for instance, Maardu's mayor Georgi Bystrov is paid five monthly wages in bonuses a year.
At the beginning of the year, the city government of Maardu decided to increase its wages by 8%. "If people are not paid a decent salary, they would not get a decent pension at the end," says 65-year-old Bystrov in his office. "You can be stable only if you take care of your employees."
Bystrov earns 34,500 kroons a month and saw his salary increase 2,500 kroons at the beginning of the year. Other city officials saw their paychecks grow between 1,000 and 2,000 kroons.
"It was not a salary rise, it was a correction. People must have incentives. We have been paying bonuses all the time and they expect it," said Anatoli Kartov, deputy head of the finance department of the city government.
In nine months, Maardu city govenrment has paid out over 600,000 kroons in holiday fees, additional fees and compensations.
To raise more money to the budget, the city government has increased land tax and took out 10.8 million kroons from the municipal company Maardu Elamu in dividends. Last year Maardu sold all shares in municipal heating company to Eraküte for 12 million kroons.
On June 30, for instance, Maardu city council decided to pay 17,250 kroons in bonus to council chairman Leo Repponen for Midsummer. Other bonuses are paid out for the Independence Day, International Women's Day, anniversary of Maardu, anniversary of Võnnu battle, etc.
Bystrov explains that the current bonus system was introduced in 1996 under mayor Vladimir Arhipov. According to this system, the bonus fund of the mayor and the council chairman is up to five monthly wages, and three wages for all other officials of city government.
"The system works and employees are interested in their performance," says another city official.
Bystrov says that although the law entitled him to five monthly wages in bonuses a year, he has only received 3.9 in 2009 so far. "We have cut our workforce. When I came here in 1996, we had 65 employees, now there are 44 and next year 39." Maardu also plans to cut its next year's budget by 12 million kroons and the city government payroll by a million.