Merging of city government will save €2.5 million annually
According to Mayor of Tallinn, Mihhail Kõlvart (Center), the changes in city government structure will save up to €2.5 million annually and the departments of Sports and Youth, Culture, and Education will be assessed in September and October.
As reported on Wednesday by ERR News, Kõlvart introduced a reform plan to members of Tallinn city government which will change the city's management structure, and replace the current heads of several agencies.
Kõlvart did not specify which heads of agencies will be replaced: "As for the names, if we had a plan to get rid or lay off a specific person, we wouldn't think of a complicated scheme to remove two or three leaders.
The reorganization of city government will begin in August, after summer vacations. By the start of September, a draft of the process will be presented to the City Council, so they can decide on the reorganization. The new structure of city government will take effect at the end of 2020, at the latest, Tallinn press service announced.
An analysis was done in 2019 to assess the functionality of Tallinn as an organization, with proposals brought forward on increasing quality of leadership and reorganization.
As the first changes, in 2019, the Urban Environment and Public Works Department were merged and in 2020, the operation of Tallinna Kalmistud was terminated, with Kadrioru Park taking over management of city-owned cemeteries.
In 2021, a reorganization of city-managed institutions is planned.
Head of Culture Department: if the Mayor deems it necessary, then it must be correct
According to Kõlvart, the tasks of city government departments of Sports and Youth, Culture, and Education will be analysed and a specific plan will be made to link the departments.
Aini Härm, head of Tallinn Culture Department, told ERR on Wednesday that Kõlvart has not reached out to her yet, which is why she can not say if the department and her position will remain.
She said that to her knowledge, the reorganization will take place in September and October, when a thorough analysis is also done. The decision on merging departments should come this year.
Commenting on the reform of city government, Härm said: "If the Mayor deems it necessary, then it must be correct."
On January 28, employees of Tallinn City Museum sent a letter to Kõlvart, informing the Mayor on a lack of cooperation with the Culture Department. Deputy Mayor Vadim Belobrovtsev (Center) said the city government is pleased with Härm's work: "To my knowledge, no complaints have been made about Aini Härm or the department."
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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste