Sienkevych admits that the new structure of Mykolaiv City Council may need to be changed: «It’s not set in stone, nor is it the Ten Commandments»

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych and City Council Secretary Dmytro Falco. Screenshot from the session broadcast

The proposed changes to the structure of the executive bodies of the Mykolaiv City Council are not set in stone, so councillors may be asked to make further amendments.

This was stated today, 30 April, by Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych during the session, according to NikVesti.

The Mayor of Mykolaiv said that councillors had been working on changes to the structure of the executive bodies for more than six months. But not everyone agrees with the changes.

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«I have been working within this structure for 11 years. But we are striving to be the number one partners of the European anti-corruption initiative. We are doing our utmost to demonstrate that we are striving to improve and use funds as effectively as possible. That is precisely why we have spent more than six months working on proposals, whether you agree with them or not. We have all got used to one way of doing things and, believe me, now that we are starting to work within a different structure, it will likely turn out that we will need to revert to the old ways in many respects. We understand this and will once again turn to you, the councillors, regarding changes to specific areas,» said the Mayor of Mykolaiv.

According to him, changes to the city council’s structure can be made, as they are not set in stone.

«This isn’t dogma; it isn’t the Ten Commandments that Moses wrote ages ago; we all use it. It’s the structure of a business, an institution, an organisation, which can change just as easily as changing one’s clothes, in an hour or even longer,» noted Oleksandr Sienkevych.

As a reminder, in February, members of the Mykolaiv City Council were again unable to pass a resolution approving the new structure of the executive bodies. The draft provided for the introduction of a separate body responsible for the protection of cultural heritage.

In March, lawyers warned the city council of the threat of a collapse in the structure of Mykolaiv City Council due to a number of unadopted decisions necessary for the final restructuring.

The head of the Central District Administration and city councillor, Oleksandr Bereza, believes that administration staff are psychologically exhausted by the city council’s failure to approve changes to the structure of the executive bodies. The Housing and Utilities Commission, of which he is a member, did not approve the draft decision.

What Sienkevych proposes in the new structure of Mykolaiv City Council

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych presented a draft of the new structure of the executive bodies back in April, which was developed in accordance with the recommendations of an Ernst & Young audit. The new structure provides for a reduction in the number of chief administrators, as well as the liquidation and consolidation of departments. However, the city council is currently unable to say by how much the staffing levels of executive bodies and the costs of maintaining them will be reduced.

Draft of the new structure of Mykolaiv’s executive bodies, presented in April 2025, screenshot from the mayor’s presentation

Meanwhile, the draft of the new structure of the Mykolaiv City Council’s executive bodies provides for an increase in the number of deputy mayors to seven. There are plans to create the post of deputy mayor for digitalisation.

The draft of the new structure of the executive bodies of the Mykolaiv City Council provides for a curtailment of the powers of district administrations, which will cease to be the main administrators of funds. This was publicly criticised by the heads of two districts, who are also councillors: Oleksandr Bereza and Hanna Remennikova.

At the same time, it was reported that Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych believes that councillors should not combine representative and executive functions, and therefore should not hold positions in the city council’s executive bodies.