IDFI reports on administrative expenses of Tbilisi City Hall and Sakrebulo

Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) has published a special report on the administrative expenses of the Tbilisi City Hall and Sakrebulo.

IDFI has studied the data of 2017 and 2018, which covers the business travel, fuel consumption and advertising costs of Tbilisi City Hall and Sakrebulo staff. The survey is based on the information requested from Tbilisi City Hall, but, according to the IDFI, in some cases, due to incomplete information received from the institution, proper processing and comparison could not have been done.

According to the report, compared to 2017, labor remuneration of staff decreased by GEL4 million in 2018, while labor remuneration of supernumerary employees increased by GEL3.4 million. As the report reads, labor remuneration of high-ranking public officials of Tbilisi City Hall increased in 2018 and covered the amount of monthly salary supplements received in 2017.

The average expense of business trips of the Tbilisi Municipal Council in 2017 was GEL3000, while in 2018 it amounted to GEL5000.

As the report reads, business trip expenses of Tbilisi City Hall were GEL281,000 in 2017, while in 2018 in amounted to GEL285,000. As for the Sakrebulo, business trip expenses amounted to GEL108,000 in 2017 and it was GEL118,000 in 2018.

According to the document, the Tbilisi City Hall owns 370 vehicles, of which 105 units were released in 2018. The purchasing cost as much as GEL5.6 million, it is likely to be linked to the creation of a municipal inspection in Tbilisi.

GEL1,671,201 was spent on the fuel supply of the city hall, which is GEL278,000 more than in 2017.

As for the Sakrebulo staff, it had 40 vehicles serviced during 2018. Of these, 28 cars were intended for City Council members, 16 according to their position (City Council Chair, First Deputy Chairperson and Deputy Chairpersons, Chairpersons of factions and commissions), and 12 – on general use.

With 40 cars, 43 drivers were working for the Sakrebulo. While in 2017, Tbilisi 39 drivers with 35 cars were working for the Sakrebulo.

According to the document, the Expenses of the Public Communication Agency also includes administrative costs. For example, more than GEL512 thousand was spent on labor remuneration in 2018 and more than GEL1,6 million for products and services. It should be noted that 69,5% of TV advertisement expenses of Tbilisi City Hall are concentrated on TV Imedi.

Representational Expenses of Tbilisi City Hall was also increased by 32% in 2018. in 2017-2018, representational expenses of the Tbilisi Municipal Council amounted to GEL77,507.

The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) is a Georgian non-governmental organization founded in 2009 by two historians/researchers Levan Avalishvili and Giorgi Kldiashvili.