Transparency International Georgia has evaluated the performance of the City Council of the Kutaisi Municipality (hereinafter the City Council of Kutaisi) in 2022. The report is based on the information requested from the City Council and that posted on the City Council’s official website, as well as on the observations of our organization. The study covers the period between November 2021 and December 2022.

Main Findings

• During the reporting period, the City Council of Kutaisi exercised weak oversight over the Kutaisi  City Hall and legal entities established by it, and the oversight over the officials and individual agencies accountable to the City Council was formal in most cases;
• No instances of conflicts of interest, incompatible activities with public service, or violations of ethical norms and rules of procedures were identified at the City Council of Kutaisi;
• The organizational aspects of the City Council sessions witnessed slight improvement compared to 2020. A total of 21 sessions were conducted throughout the year, with 7 of them being extraordinary;
• Throughout the reporting period, Kutaisi City Council approved a total of 55 resolutions, with 45 of them being authored or initiated by the Kutaisi Mayor, and the remaining 10 resolutions originating from the Chairman of the City Council;
• Among the 19 officials serving in the Kutaisi City Council, 4 individuals submitted a declaration with violations;
• The Chairman of the City Council of Kutaisi Municipality presented the report to the City Council on November 30, 2022;
• The Gender Equality Council is actively working at the Kutaisi City Council. It has formulated a gender policy document, strategy, and action plan for the period 2023-2025. Additionally, the council regularly provides recommendations on the budget project of the Kutaisi Municipality.
• Nino Chikvashvili, a member of the "For Georgia" party, holds the highest number of missed council sessions, totaling 17 absences. Following closely behind, members of the "United National Movement" faction, namely Grigol Shushania, Gaga Managadze, Roman Kvachakidze, and Ana Kokhreidze, have each missed 16 sessions. Besik Bregadze's City Council membership was terminated due to his non-attendance of City Council sessions for a continuous period of 6 months.
• During the reporting period, a sum of 1,342,034 GEL was allocated for wages. Additionally, the employees of the City Council office and freelancers collectively received 84,882 GEL in the form of salary supplements, bonuses, and assistance.
• Kutaisi City Council spent 92,723 liters of fuel in 14 months, the cost of which amounted to 298,261 GEL;
• Throughout the reporting period, the Kutaisi City Council did not receive any petitions.

      Recommendations

     Implementation of control:

• There is a need for increased involvement of Kutaisi City Council members in oversight activities. Specifically, they should utilize control mechanisms more actively and take effective measures to monitor public procurement processes and large infrastructure projects;
• The City Council should facilitate the creation of temporary working groups to conduct transparent studies into all matters that raise concerns or uncertainties;
• The City Council must exercise its authority and invite an independent auditor;
• The City Council should diligently and proactively work towards identifying cases of conflict of interest, incompatibility with public office, and violations of the Rules of Procedure of the City Council and ethical norms within the municipality.

Accountability:

• Significant improvements should be made in enhancing the attendance of City Council members at the commission sessions. It is essential for every member to demonstrate responsibility by actively participating in sessions. Moreover, a thorough analysis of the reasons behind both valid and invalid absences of each member should be conducted, followed by the implementation of appropriate measures to address the issue effectively;
• It is crucial for City Council  members to actively exercise their right to speak during the sessions and commission meetings, express their opinions on the topics under discussion, provide insights into the specific needs of citizens to both the City Council and the City Hall.

Activities of the factions:

• It is important that the activities of factions be beneficial for the local Self-governments. Factions should get actively involved in the process of considering and deciding on issues that fall under the powers of the City Council; study/control the activities of the City Hall and municipal legal entities; submit initiatives to the City Council; get actively involved in the budgeting process; etc.

Expenditures of the City Council:

• The City Council should implement rigorous oversight over administrative expenditures, not only within the representative body but also across the municipality as a whole. It is crucial to prioritize the economical spending of financial resources and ensure responsible financial management.

Petition:

• The legislation grants self-government bodies the authority to reduce the required number of signatures for petition filing to any desired amount. The Local Self-Government Code sets an upper limit of 1%, which can be challenging to adhere to, particularly in municipalities with a large number of citizens;
• Since no petitions were registered at the City Council during the reporting period, it is advisable for the City Council of Kutaisi to consider reducing the lower limit of the required number of signatures. Setting it at 0.5% instead of 1% would facilitate the petition preparation process for interested individuals, making it more accessible and manageable.