According to recent media sources, self-government assembly (sakrebulo) members have been allocated special earnings for certain activities. This information sparked different reactions from the public. As it turns out, a large part of the Georgian society is not aware that the Assembly members do not receive allowances from the state budget, unless they are also appointed on specific local self-government posts. Transparency International Georgia wants to inform the society on the responsibilities that assembly members have towards voters, according to the current legislation and on the challenges faced by the proper implementation of these responsibilities.  

Responsibilities of assembly members and various approaches in different municipalities

An assembly is a local self-government body, which is composed of members elected by proportional or majoritarian elections. According to the current legislation, the responsibilities of assembly members include: meeting with voters; taking part in Assembly meetings; taking part in the work of Assembly commissions; and submitting a report on his/her activities to voters. Assembly members do not receive an allowance or any other funds for carrying out these functions (except for the Assembly Head, his/her Deputy, the Head of Assembly commissions and fractions). Therefore, the state decided to reimburse such expenses for assembly members (transportation and communication expenses). 

In 2014, after the local self-government elections, part of the newly summoned Assemblies adopted a Resolution, “Regarding Reimbursement of Local Self-Government Assembly Members for Expenses Incurred While Carrying out their Official Duties”. Assemblies have the right to individually define the criteria for allocating funds, as well as the rates of reimbursements; therefore, such criteria and rates differ among the various Assemblies. It is difficult to establish a single criterion, which could have been applied in this process.

For example, the reimbursement rates of local self-government assembly members in the City of Poti range from 500 to 700 GEL. In Keda Municipality, such rates range from 230 to 450 GEL, in Samtredia Municipality Assembly the reimbursement rate is 500 GEL and in Senaki Municipality Assembly – 400 GEL.

Reimbursements rates in certain municipalities for expenses incurred by local self-government assembly members while carrying out their official duties 

In Poti, Samtredia and Keda official duty-related expenses are reimbursed for those assembly members – The Assembly Head, the Deputy Head, the Head of Assembly Commission, and the Head of Assembly Faction – who also receive salaries. In the Senaki Municipality, such reimbursements are provided only for regular Assembly members (with the exception of officials). 

In addition, on August 2, the Kareli Municipality Assembly reviewed a draft Resolution, “Regarding Reimbursement of Local Self-government Assembly Members for Expenses Incurred While Carrying out their Official Duties”. According to the draft Resolution, the upper limit of the reimbursement – 500 GEL – is further divided into sub-rates. Namely, 

a) For taking part in the Assembly meetings – 100 GEL

b) For taking part in the Assembly Commissions – 100 GEL

c) For meeting voters – 250 GEL, including:

a. For meeting voters in the Municipality building – 100 GEL

b. For meeting voters outside the Municipality building – for each meeting 50 GEL with the maximum number of meetings per month being three

d) For meeting officials accountable to the assembly – 50 GEL

It not understandable, why a Kareli Municipality Assembly member should receive reimbursement for meeting voters in the municipality building, or taking part in the Assembly or the Assembly commission meetings, when the current legislation obliges an Assembly member to carry out these functions without reimbursement. Additionally, the draft Resolution does not specify the types of expenses that are reimbursed when meeting with voters – whether these include travel expenses or honoraria for assembly members. 

According to the draft Resolution, a Municipality Assembly member should certify meeting with voters by signatures of at least three voters, with their names and personal numbers provided. However, the draft Resolution does not explain how the validity of these signatures can be verified. 

Our recommendations

Transparency International Georgia believes that assembly members should be reimbursed for the expenses incurred while carrying out their official duties, such as petrol expenses for attending external meetings with constituents and communication expenses. However, an assembly member should not receive an allowance for attending and participating in assembly meetings, assembly commissions, or for meetings with voters in municipality buildings, especially, when voters visit the assembly on their own costs. In addition:

• It is important to establish a single system of reimbursing local self-government assembly members for expenses incurred while carrying out their official duties. Such a system should be oriented as much as possible towards saving financial resources for the municipality;
• Effective mechanisms should be elaborated to define the reimbursement rates for the assembly members;
• Local self-government bodies should be independent while making decisions on matters falling under their competence. However, for better accountability of budgetary spending, assembly budgetary commissions should carry out their supervisory functions as required by legislation. 
• In future, for increasing the effectiveness of budgetary spending, internal audit agencies should be created in self-government bodies (currently, only Adjara self-government bodies have internal audit agencies). The establishment of internal audit agencies will help local self-government organs to reach their budgetary goals and to identify problems regarding cost effectiveness in a timely manner.