2024-04-14 22:12:35
The annotation of the draft law lists a wide range of legal grounds for the dismissal of the council. VARAM points out that the council demonstrated systematic incompetence and carried out deliberately illegal actions related to the development, adoption and execution of the municipal budget for 2023, as well as the development and adoption of the 2024 budget.
The supervising state administrative institutions have not gained confidence that the financial situation of the municipality under the existing council could change. This endangers the performance of the autonomous functions of the municipality and ensuring the operation of the administration.
VARAM proposes to appoint a temporary administration in the municipality. Its leader would be the former head of the Company Register, lawyer Guna Puce, and her deputies would be Rēzekne Academy of Technology Rector, Doctor of Economic Sciences Iveta Mietule and former head of Riga City Council’s Construction Board Jānis Belkovskis.
The composition of the temporary administration was chosen taking into account their previous work experience in the state administration, reputation and education, VARAM explains. They will be able to combine their posts with existing posts in other institutions.
Puce admitted to the LETA agency that there is a challenging situation in Rēzekne municipality. At the same time, she expects that the temporary administration will be able to fulfill its duties in good faith and help improve the situation until the next municipal elections.
After the adoption of the bill, Puce has undertaken to get acquainted with the current situation, including the obligations undertaken by the municipality.
The temporary administration will perform the functions of the local municipal council as defined in the laws and regulations and will ensure the continuity of the work of local government institutions, as well as the financial and economic activity.
The operation of the temporary administration will be ensured and financed from the funds of the Rēzekne municipality budget. This year, the monthly salary for the head of the temporary administration will be 5,064 euros, and for the deputy heads of the temporary administration – 4,340 euros.
The temporary administration will operate until the day when the Rēzekne City Council, elected in the next municipal elections, convenes for its first session. The next municipal elections in Latvia will be held in June 2025.
The draft law must be supported by the government and adopted by the Saeima. It will take effect the day after it is announced.
As reported, under the leadership of the previous mayor of Rēzekne, Aleksandar Bartašević (“Together for Latvia”), the city fell into severe economic difficulties, unable to fulfill its financial obligations. In the fall of 2023, financial violations were detected in the city of Rēzekne, which led to the inability to cover financial obligations. Under these conditions, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development Inga Bērziņa (JV) Bartasevič was suspended from her post. He has contested his suspension in court.
The chairman of the Rēzekne council was suspended for significant and systematic violations while managing the work of the council and being responsible for the organization and management of the municipal budget execution process. The respective violations, as well as the fact that the chairman of the council did not provide fact-based, true, comparable, understandable and complete information about the financial situation of the municipality and about the preparation and execution of the municipal budget, confirmed the inability of the chairman of the council to fulfill his duties.
“Kopa Latvijai” initially tried to achieve the dismissal of the Rēzekne City Council and emergency elections, but the government did not take appropriate steps, instead actually forcing the ruling coalition of the Rēzekne City Council to adopt a balanced budget for 2024 and elect a new council chairman.
2024-04-14 22:12:35