Tigran Avinyan to be Advised by 15 Individuals. The Council Passed the Bill

One of the agenda items at the last session of the Yerevan City Council this year was a bill concerning the advisors, consultants, assistants, and press secretary of the Mayor of Yerevan. According to the bill, the Mayor of Yerevan will have 7 advisors, 15 consultants for various functions of the staff, 5 deputies, 4 assistants, and so on.

The 'National Progress' faction responded to the bill with sarcasm. 'Isn’t 15 advisors a bit too few? Maybe there should be 25,' said council member Grigor Yeritsyan. Another member commented from the floor, 'It could even be 75.'

The presenter of the bill, Milena Aydinyan, acting head of the Human Resources Management Department of the City Hall, emphasized that there are many departments in the mayor’s office, and having that number of advisors is normal and in line with international standards. 'This is an innovative and modern approach. Specialists are being involved in the work. They will carry out targeted work and enhance the efficiency of the community. I have studied this extensively and believe that considering our efforts, 15 advisors is quite a normal number,' Aydinyan stated.

In response to the presenter, Yeritsyan said that considering the knowledge, experience, and professional quality of the Yerevan City Hall team, even 15 advisors is insufficient and there should be 150 advisors.

Samvel Hakobyan, a member from the 'Mother Armenia' faction, also emphasized that there are so many employees in the City Hall that if everyone worked properly, Avinyan might not even need to show up for work. He also expressed that the salary amounts are at least perplexing to him—advisors to the mayor receive 629,000 drams, assistants 544,000 drams, deputies 952,000 drams, and so forth.

Tigran Avinyan stressed that the Mayor of Yerevan has assistants and advisors, not he personally. 'Tigran Avinyan will not be taking the advisors and assistants home. Each of them performs work,' said the Mayor of Yerevan.

It should be noted that before the start of the session, the 'Mother Armenia' faction held a protest in front of the City Hall. They were joined by 'National Progress.' The slogan of the protest was 'No to Thievery.'

The session began with the participation of the 'Civil Contract', 'Republic', and 'Public Voice' factions. Later, as the quorum was secured, the 'National Progress' and 'Mother Armenia' factions also showed up. The council approved the bill with 31 votes in favor, 1 against, and 1 abstention.