The Mykolaiv City Council has begun operating under a new structure for its executive bodies

The Mykolaiv City Council building. Photo: NikVesti

Since 10 September 2026, Mykolaiv City Council has been operating under a new structure for its executive bodies. This has seen a reduction in the number of officials and levels of management.

This was announced by the mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, during a session of the Mykolaiv City Council on 24 September, according to NikVesti.

According to the mayor, the changes to the structure were developed with the support of the European Anti-Corruption Initiative and Ernst & Young.

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«Thanks to our joint efforts, which were based on the support of the European Anti-Corruption Initiative and Ernst & Young (the international audit firm Ernst & Young (EY), — note), as of 10 September 2026, we have been operating under a new structure for executive bodies, which has seen a reduction in the number of administrators and management levels, affecting many of the people working here,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

He noted that they plan to analyse the work going forward and optimise it where necessary.

«We will work with the new structure and look at how to optimise it and improve its functioning,» added the mayor.

During his speech, Oleksandr Sienkevych also called on councillors to support the rules governing the improvement of the Mykolaiv community as soon as possible. At the same time, the mayor stated that he would not put the document forward for approval at this particular session if councillors felt it needed further refinement.

According to the mayor, the document is intended to standardise the work of municipal services. He noted that, whilst drafting the regulations, they had drawn on the practices of other Ukrainian cities.

«But I ask that you examine it with the utmost care, because we will, in fact, be organising the work of municipal services in accordance with these regulations,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

It should be recalled that the Mykolaiv City Council’s Committee on Legal Affairs recommended setting up a working group to refine the draft of the new city improvement regulations.

We would also like to remind you that Andrii Yermolaiev, the former head of the Anti-Corruption Department and a councillor for the «Propozytsia» party, has been appointed director of the Department of Social Protection of the Mykolaiv City Council.

In August 2025, the city council approved an updated structure for the executive bodies, which provided for the abolition of the Anti-Corruption Department as an independent unit and its incorporation into the Executive Committee. At the time, during the session, Andriy Yermolayev, a city councillor who had headed the department, spoke out against this decision.

It is worth noting that even before attempts were made to abolish the so-called «Yermolaiev Department», Andrii Yermolaiev had already publicly criticised «his own» team of planners, in particular, stating that Mykolaiv’s chief architect, Yevhen Poliakov, had «sneakily slipped» a permit for kiosks past the councillors, or calling on the public prosecutor’s office to challenge the development of the green space on Kober Street near the petrol station.

In December 2025, whilst commenting on Andrii Yermolaiev’s statement regarding possible corruption in the purchase, on credit, of municipal equipment at an inflated price, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych publicly called him «short-sighted».

The new structure of the Mykolaiv City Council’s executive bodies provides for a curtailment of the powers of the district administrations, which will no longer act as the principal administrators of funds. The heads of two districts, who are also councillors — Oleksandr Bereza and Hanna Remennikova — publicly reacted to this.