Transparency International Georgia has evaluated the performance of the City Council of the 2021 Convocation of Batumi Municipality, covering the period from January 1 to December 31, 2023. This report represents the key findings of the study and offers recommendations that, if implemented, could enhance the City Council’s future performance. The report is based on public information obtained from the City Council, observations by Transparency International Georgia, and media materials.

Key Findings

• The Batumi City Council has exercised weak oversight of the municipality’s executive branch, primarily due to the lack of political will among the Georgian Dream majority in the City Council to control the City Hall’s activities;
• The City Council generally supports initiatives from the factions formed by the ruling party, while proposals from the minority factions are often not even presented at council sessions; 
• During the reporting period, the Batumi City Council held 12 council sessions and 24 bureau sessions. No extraordinary council sessions were called, and no commission sittings were canceled due to a lack of quorum, which can be assessed as a positive outcome;
• The Batumi City Council passed 42 resolutions, 40 of which were initiated and authored by the Mayor of Batumi, and the remaining two by the City Council itself;
• The City Council did not appoint an independent auditor to examine the performance of Batumi City Hall during the reporting period;
• A total of GEL 2,175,343 was spent on salaries for the City Council members and office staff, with GEL 993,423 going to the deputies and GEL 1,181,920 to the office staff;
• Out of the total labor remuneration for the City Council’s office staff, GEL 93,626 was made up of bonuses and salary supplements;
• In 2023, GEL 23,392 was spent on the telephone charges for city council deputies and office staff, GEL 18,309 was spent on the maintenance of the vehicle fleet of the City Council, and GEL 73,851 on fuel;
• The quality of information provided by the Batumi City Council has notably deteriorated.