Some mysterious force has prepared a most astonishing draft resolution for the next City Council session (Monday, December 29th)...
We suggest changing
According to some sources, this draft resolution appeared on the City Council website on November 24. The previous City Council session took place on November 26. The draft resolution proposed amending a decision not yet adopted at the November session. The title states: "On Amending City Council Resolutions No. 30/53 of June 18, 2014, and No. 31/58 of November 26, 2014, Regarding the Structure of Executive Bodies."
The draft of the future resolution proposes significant changes to the city government structure, including changing the vice mayors and their responsibilities and powers. Furthermore, the version of the document that appeared on social media already names the new future city leaders.
For example, a deputy mayor is being appointed – a certain Kikot A.A., director of the financial and economic department. A yet-unnamed deputy mayoral position is also being created, which will be given the "lucratives" – the consumer market department, the department of industry, entrepreneurship, investment, and international relations, and the administrative services and permitting department. There's also another new face in the project: a certain Dyadichko I.G. has been nominated for the position of vice mayor, who will oversee the long-suffering utilities department.
And now, attention! Many deputies haven't even heard of the draft resolution, which is supposed to receive quick approval from parliamentary committees and the executive committee this week and be voted on at the City Council session next Monday. It was first published on social media by Deputy Sergei Zhukov.
"For example, I don't know who these people are whose names are listed in the draft resolution or what their vision for the city's development is. The distribution of powers also raises questions. For example, as we see, the new structure lacks a corporate rights department."
"This is the first time I've heard about this draft resolution from you," the head of one of the parliamentary groups told Gorozhanin. "We haven't discussed it in the committees."
"My colleagues and I saw this project on Friday; it wasn't on the website before!" another deputy asserts. "And, of course, no one discussed it with us. We don't even know who drafted this resolution, who initiated it, or who their names are. Essentially, the city's governance structure is being changed. This is an extremely important issue; it can't be decided without broad discussion."
The whole point is that the management structure and the personnel of the city council are the responsibility of the city council members. They make decisions, and they can be held accountable. But in this case, we're witnessing some kind of "poltergeist with Cheburashka." Unknown individuals are proposing unknown candidates for vacant positions in a non-existent city government structure.
Speaking of candidates, let's take the name Kikot and search online. The result appears: Alexander Anatolyevich Kikot holds the position of Director of the Regional State Administration's Department of Housing and Utilities. According to the draft resolution, he is applying for the position of Director of the Economic Department. This immediately raises two questions: is the Director of the Housing and Utilities Department, to put it mildly, well-versed in specific financial matters, and will he be able to draw up a budget? And the second question is: does the city even need a Deputy Mayor for Finance if the city lacks financial independence and plans everything according to the Ministry of Finance's blueprint?
Who is I.G. Dyadichko and why is he being proposed as the curator and organizer of the housing and utilities sector? Even the Internet doesn't know, let alone the deputies and city residents.
A fair question arises: why is Dnipropetrovsk going down the "married me without me" path? Why is it that today, when everyone is unanimously chanting mantras about government openness and the need for all important city decisions to be made only after consultation with the community, this very, very serious issue of city governance is being handled the old-fashioned way, as under Yanukovych—quietly, behind the scenes, and behind closed doors?
There's a deputy corps, there's a city public council. What's the point of them if decisions like these are simply passed over? Why are candidates for deputy mayoral positions appointed by who knows who and how? What proposals, what vision of the city's problems, what programs do they intend to bring to the top? Who heard and discussed them? What role do the city community—the spectators with their popcorn—play in this whole circus?
"This issue should have been brought up at least during parliamentary session, and even better, for public discussion," the deputies say. "We don't know whether this is a good decision or a bad one, whether the new people are good specialists or not. We simply don't know. Applicants for positions should present their action plans."
The City Council's draft resolution immediately dismisses competition between people and ideas. And it brings back the old feudal order: whatever the master says, so be it...
Trial balloon?
Many doubt this decision will be adopted by the city council in its proposed form. Officials explained to us, on condition of anonymity, that the draft was not prepared by the City Council, and pointedly pointed toward Kirov Avenue.
Some, more experienced in the apparatus games, express the opinion that the project was made public for a reason. It was done so that those interested in positions and powers would negotiate "where necessary."
"You see, this is like a trial balloon: perhaps the decision won't pass at all, perhaps it will be adopted in a different form, with different names, or perhaps it won't even be included on the agenda. All this will become known at the next session," they say in the city council.
The week leading up to New Year's will reveal how events will unfold. But the very fact that such a draft resolution has appeared is a wake-up call for all city residents, activists, community leaders, and other deputies. Essentially, we've all been told our place in the city: we're on a dog's bed at the entrance to the lords' chambers. And the lords will decide for us, think for us, and do all the other verbs—count, plan, divide, distribute...
Yulia Rudaya, GORozhanin Newspaper
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