Levan Khabeishvili: “The mayor of Ozurgeti doubled his salary twice a year and now earns GEL 5,500. At the same time, they approved GEL 25 in aid to socially vulnerable large families.”

Verdict: FactCheck concludes that Levan Khabeishvili’s statement is HALF TRUE.

Resume: The salary of the mayor of Ozurgeti increased on 1 June 2022 and reached GEL 4,950. Previously, the mayor’s salary was GEL 3,000. Therefore, it increased by 65%. In line with the Prime Minister’s decisions, salaries of public servants have increase by 10% every year since 2022. As a result, the salaries of Ozurgeti City Hall’s employees were adjusted in 2023, reflecting the 10% growth, and the mayor’s salary now amounts to GEL 5,450. Therefore, the mayor of Ozurgeti indeed had his salary increased twice in a six-month period, although not during one and the same year. This part of Levan Khabeishvili’s statement is true.

In regard to cash aid to socially vulnerable large families, Ozurgeti City Hall decided to introduce GEL 25 assistance to families with four and more members, although it is GEL 25 per child and not per family as claimed by Levan Khabeishvili. With this decision, monthly cash aid for a family with four children will be GEL 100. In addition, socially vulnerable families were already entitled to receive cash assistance and aid per child from the central budget and funds allocated from Ozurgeti’s budget are in the form of additional assistance. Therefore, we believe that it is irrelevant to draw comparisons between the mayor’s salary and additional money allocated from the local budget for socially vulnerable families. In light of these circumstances, FactCheck concludes that Levan Khabeishvili’s statement is HALF TRUE.

Analysis

The candidate for chairman of the United National Movement, Levan Khabeishvili, on air on TV Pirveli’s talk show, Reaktsia, stated: “Talakvadze (the mayor of Ozurgeti) increased his salary two times in one year and now earns GEL 5,500 whilst they approved GEL 25 assistance to socially vulnerable people who have four children.”

The amount of salaries for Ozurgeti Municipality City Hall’s officials and other employees was determined by the 20 November 2019 ordinance of the Ozurgeti Municipality. In accordance with the ordinance, the salary of the mayor of Ozurgeti was GEL 3,000, his first deputy earned GEL 2,600 and other deputies (two deputies) GEL 2,400 each.

In April 2022, a new list of wages for Ozurgeti Municipality City Hall’s officials was introduced.

In accordance with the aforementioned document, the salaries of Ozurgeti Municipality’s officials increased significantly. The mayor’s salary reached GEL 4,950 whilst his first deputy started to earn GEL 3,850 and other deputies GEL 3,520 each. These amendments came into effect on 1 June 2022.

Based on these changes, the mayor’s salary increased by 65%, the salary of the first deputy mayor increased by 48% and the salaries of two other deputies increased by 47%. The growth of the salaries happened in light of the 10% salary growth for all public servants employed at Ozurgeti City Hall (in accordance with the decision of the central government, all public servants had their salaries increased by 10% from 2022).

This year, the list of wages for Ozurgeti City Hall’s officials was amended one more time to reflect the 10% salary growth for public servants. Therefore, Ozurgeti’s mayor’s salary reached GEL 5,440, the first deputy mayor earns GEL 4,230 and the salaries of two other deputies now amount to GEL 3,870 after the changes.

In regard to assistance for socially vulnerable large families, (Article 8. Assistance for socially vulnerable large families) envisioned by Ozurgeti Municipality’s 2023 budget and in accordance with the healthcare and social assistance schemes, large families registered within Ozurgeti Municipality’s administrative boundaries which have four or more under-18 children and are registered in the joint database of socially vulnerable people with rating points from 120,001 to 150,0001 are entitled to collect GEL 25 assistance per each child. A family with four children is no longer entitled to this assistance once one of the children reaches the age of 18. However, of additional note is that socially vulnerable families are entitled to subsistence assistance and cash aid per child from the central budget. Funds allocated from Ozurgeti’s budget are in the form of additional assistance.

In accordance with the aforementioned facts and figures, the salary of the mayor of Ozurgeti increased on 1 June 2022 and reached GEL 4,950. The next growth happened already this year when the mayor’s salary reached GEL 5,450. Therefore, the mayor of Ozurgeti indeed had his salary increased twice in a six-month period, although not during one and the same year. This part of Levan Khabeishvili’s statement is true.

In regard to cash aid to socially vulnerable large families, Ozurgeti City Hall has indeed introduced GEL 25 assistance to families with four and more members, although it is GEL 25 per child and not per family as claimed by Levan Khabeishvili. Monthly cash aid for a family with four children will be GEL 100. As mentioned earlier, socially vulnerable families were already entitled to receive cash assistance and aid per child from the central budget and funds allocated from Ozurgeti’s budget are additional assistance to such families. Therefore, Levan Khabeishvili’s statement is HALF TRUE.