Structural reforms in Yerevan City Hall

Based on the 1st part of the 30th article of the RA law «On local self-government in the city of Yerevan», the first in this year special meeting  of  the  Aldermen  Council  was  convened  on January 21. Two items were on the agenda.  The meeting was chaired by the mayor of Yerevan Karen Karapetyan. The first item was the project of making changes and additions in the structure of the City Hall and the administrative districts.  Referring to the changes the mayor noted that the Chief architect with its institute will  operate  under  mayor’s  subordination  and  will  be  maximum  freed from his everyday functions in order to be able to work creatively.  Besides, to  regulate  the functions of external improvement the capital will  also have a Chief designer in the status of the mayor’s adviser.  Instead  of  formerly  three deputies the mayor of Yerevan will have four deputies. In accordance with the structural changes, the first deputy mayor of  Yerevan  will  coordinate the departments of Transportation, Urban Development, Land Control, Trade and Service as well as the newly created department of   organization of  administrative districts heads staffs. “We will delegate to administrative districts certain work and functions,  due to which their rights and responsibilities will respectively grow.  Currently, the criteria are being discussed according to which the administrative district will make a report every month. The review, evaluation and rating of the administrative district activity will be performed by this department”, explained the mayor of Yerevan.

Karen Karapetyan also presented the functions of  the  other deputies. One of them will coordinate the  spheres  of  Communal  Services, Construction and Improvement, Nature Protection, Social Welfare, and the other – the departments of  Education, Health Care, Culture, the divisions of Children’s Rights  Protection, of Sport and Youth. The new deputy mayor, Vahagn Arakelyan,  whose  appointment  was the second item on the agenda, by the way, will coordinate the management of financial flows, assets and property. “In this sphere first of all we expect effective work in collecting assets and arrears of the municipality”, noted the mayor.    There has also been formed the department of Development and Investment Programs, the main function of which is the attraction of investments directed to the development of the capital and the tourism promotion: “We have the general plan as far as  for 2020 confirmed in 2005.  But today we see that actual situation and the forecast we have had are rather distorted”.

The  functions of the newly appointed staff secretary were also presented to the Aldermen Council, according to which the latter will coordinate the sphere of  Foreign Relations, the secretariat, the divisions of staff management and of works with the Aldermen Council.

Certain changes have been made with regard to the powers of the departments. The structure of the  Legal department has been completed with a newly formed division of residents’ rights and legal  interests protection. Both issues of the agenda of the special meeting were adopted unanimously.