Baseline Questionnaire— Community Profile Tashir GENERAL FEATURES OF COMMUNITY Tashir is located approximately 162 kilometers north of Yerevan on the junction of highways M-3 and H-31 in Lori marz, about 14 km south of the Georgian border. General Executive Summary Tashir, a city with a population of 9,400, is famous for its cheese-producing enterprises. Its high quality products are marketed throughout Armenia and exported to other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.1 The community has 3,600 households. Mayor Nshan Soghoyan is in his second term. There are eleven members of the local city council of which five are newly elected. The city administration is made up of 22 staff. Half of the city’s economy is agriculture, with the remainder split between small commercial businesses and services. Although Tashir’s cheese products are sold in Armenia and other former Soviet countries, the city has an unemployment rate of 20 percent. Approximately 1,500 of Tashir’s population (16 percent of the total population) work in other countries, primarily Russia. The city’s budget, when capital subvention grants are taken into account, is relatively stable. However, the city has overspent in each of the last three budget years. The over-expenditure, coupled with the declining land and property tax revenues, is a negative financial trend. The city does publish a budget-in-brief for citizen review and input. Part of the lack of land and property tax revenues may be because of the high level of error in the land and property tax database. The city has an error factor of 40 percent, which makes increased land and property tax collection difficult. Tashir does not have an asset management system in place, nor does it have local legislation relative to the procurement of goods and service or the sale and lease of municipal assets. Additionally, Tashir does not have an adequate internal audit system in place for reviewing procurements and the lease and sale of municipal assets. Water and sewer services are provided by Armenia Water and Sewerage Company (AWSC), a national-government-owned and privately managed company.2 The city provides the following public services through its wholly owned municipal enterprise: solid waste collection, street cleaning, landscaping, street lighting and maintenance, 1 Armenia: Lori Province Report, Decembe r 2002, George Isayan, Business Information Service for Newly Independent States (BISNIS) Representative, Yerevan . 2 In 2005, the AWSC entered into a 5 -year management agreement with the French company SAUR. 1 storm drainage maintenance, cemetery operation, and animal control. The city also provides educational and community services with four kindergartens, an art school, a sports school, a community center, a museum, and a library. Additionally, the city provides housing maintenance for nearly 1,200 apartment units. There is one local TV station and one small newspaper, but no local radio station. Although the city administration is aware of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Law, it has not received training on the law. The city responds to about 70 inquiries, service requests, and complaints a month, 90 percent of which are responded to within the FOI timeframes. The city has assigned a city staff member with the responsibility of responding to the public. The local council has established rules of procedures for its meetings. The city has not received training on the roles and responsibilities of local council members. Also, the city does not provide newly elected council members with any orientation or training. The council does exercise its oversight responsibilities and does understand municipal operations of the city. Although space at City Hall is available, the council members do not have a room to meet with constituents. The city does not have an information board that contains city staff or council contact information. Table 1-1. Key Contacts Position Name Telephone Mayor Nshan Soghoyan (0254) 2-25-77; (091) 42-17-61 Deputy Mayor Petik Petrosyan (0254) 2-33-04; (091) 73-49-14 Chief of Staff Melsik Soloyan (0254) 2-29-31 Table 1-2. General Information Item Number Yes No Population, 2002 census 9,400 Number of households 3,615 Area (est.) 7,155 hectares Certification of boundary X Term of mayor (1st, 2nd, etc.) 2nd term Number of local council members 11 Number of local council members reelected 5 2 Table 1-3. Gender Mix of Council and City Staff Office No. of Males Percent of Total No. of Females Percent of Total Mayor 1 100 0 0 Local council 11 100 0 0 Staff of City Hall 14 64 8 36 Total 26 76 8 24 Figure 1-1. Organization Chart of Local Government Mayor Information Deputy Chief of Staff Department Mayor Dept. of Dept. of Dept. of Law Dept. Dept. of Education Urban Finance Human and Sports Development Resources Table 1-4. Economic Base of City Sector Estimated Percentage of Local Activity Agriculture 50 Transportation 0 Tourism 0 Industry (Light and Heavy) 0 Services 10 Small Commercial 30 Other 10 Total 100 Estimated unemployment rate for the city is 20 percent (people who own land are not considered unemployed). An estimated 1,500 residents are working temporary jobs i n other countries (16 percent of the total current population). 3 Figure 1-2. Tashir Economic Activity by Sector Sector Economic Activity Other Services 20% 20% Services Small Commercial Other Small Commercial 60% Table 1-5. Computer and Office Equipment of Local Government Equipment Type Number Yes No Notebook computers 0 Desktop computers 5 Servers 1 Networked X Copiers 1 Fax m achines 0 Internet s ervice X Table 1-6. Computer Software in Use Software Function Yes No Word processing X Microsoft Excel X Specialized b udget X Oracle (tax collection) X Geographic information sys tem (GIS) X Citizen registry X Office Works by Information Systems Development Training Center ( ISDTC) X 4 Table 1-7. USAID or Other Donor Programs Active in Community Donor Type of Program Technical Aid to the Commonwealth Information center of Independent States ( TACIS) German Technical Assistance Computers, kindergarten , building re novation Agency ( GTZ) Save the Children Community center establishment/renovation United Nations High Commissioner Housing for refugees for Refugees ( UNHCR) USAID = U nited States Agency for International Development Table 1-8. Active Nongovernmental Organizations or Civil Society Organizations Type of Cooperation or Service with Local NGO or CSO Government Local Red Cross General consultation Tashir Charity Org. Charity donations Mission Armenia Food service for vulnerable people Madonna of Armenia Clothing and food for children CSO = civil society organization; NGO = nongovernmental organization Table 1-9. How the City Receives Information about Adopted Legislation Source Yes No IRTEK (Legal Information Center) X Union of Communities X Marzped X National Assembly Web site X Other (newspapers, TV , etc.) X 5 COMPONENT TWO LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Executive Summary The city’s budget, when capital subvention grants are taken into account, is relatively stable. However, the city has overspent in each of the last three budget years. The over-expenditure, coupled with the declining land and property tax revenues, is a negative financial trend. The city published a budget-in-brief for citizen review and input. Part of the lack of land and property tax revenues may be because of the high level of error in the land and property tax database. The city has an error factor of 40 percent, which makes increased land and property tax collection difficult. Tashir does not have an asset management system in place, nor does it have local legislation relative to the procurement of goods and service or the sale and lease of municipal assets. Additionally, Tashir does not have an adequate internal audit system in place for reviewing procurements and lease and sale of municipal assets. Table 2-1. Revenues and Expenditures, 2003–2005—Planned Per Capita Per Capita Revenues in Revenues* Expenditures in Expenditures Fiscal Year AMD (AMD) AMD (AMD) 2005 133,619,300 14,215 134,494,800 14,308 2004 114,654,400 12,198 114,654,400 12,198 2003 126,139,100 13,491 126,139,100 13,491 AMD = Armenian drams Budget numbers include both operating and capital budgets. Budget figures not adjusted for inflation. * Based on census population figures. Table 2-2. Revenues and Expenditures, 2003–2005—Actual Per Capita Per Capita Revenues in Revenues* Expenditures in Expenditures Fiscal Year AMD (AMD) AMD (AMD) 2005 99,605,300 10,596 100,174,500 10,657 2004 55,222,400 5,875 58,618,200 6,236 2003 107,415,400 11,427 109,220,600 11,619 AMD = Armenian drams Budget numbers include both operating and capital budgets. Budget figures not adjusted for inflation. * Based on census popul ation figures. 6 Table 2-3. Property Tax Collections, 2003–2005 Fiscal Year Property Tax (AMD) Per Capita* (AMD) 2005 7,736,900 823 2004 9,257,300 985 2003 11,254,800 1,197 AMD = Armenian drams Budget numbers include both operating and capital budgets. Budget figures not adjusted for inflation. * Based on census population figures. Table 2-4. Property Tax Collection Process Activity Amount Description Percentage e rror in property tax data 40% Must update the entire database received from the State Tax I nspectorate Who collects the property tax ? Municipal finance department Tax collection commissions N/A Tax collection problems Data updating because many residents work in Russia Table 2-5. Budget Process Activity Amount Yes No Borrowed money from a bank X Citizen participation in the formation of the budget X Citizen participation in the adoption of the budget X Produce a budget in brief X Funding for projects in the community development plan X Table 2-6.