The Kolomatska AH promised to buy dwelling for young doctors, whom they will select themselves, as well as to pay a bonus of UAH 50 thousand a year – to keep valued personnel in the hromada. There are also bonuses for excellent pupils and their teachers. Besides, residents of the Kolomatska AH do not pay for the garbage removal and their travels within the AH - these costs are reimbursed from the hromada budget.

Free of charge for everyone

One and a half year ago, the smallest rayon of the Kharkiv Oblast became an amalgamated hromada covering all four village and settlement councils of the Kolomak Rayon. Volodymyr Hurtovyi, former chairman of the Shelestove village council of the Kolomak Rayon, headed a newly formed hromada. Before amalgamation Shelestove introduced free garbage removal, as well as a free bus to the rayon centre. After amalgamation, this practice of Shelestove spread to the whole hromada.

 

 

“The same bus, that transported people free of charge from Shelestove to Kolomaka, is now running free of charge around the whole rayon,” told Volodymyr Hurtovyi, head of Kolomak settlement.

 

Deputies supported this proposal. And today all residents of the Kolomatska AH (not only privileged ones, as in some hromadas of the Kharkiv Oblast) have the opportunity to get to the rayon centre for free. The bus runs according to a strict schedule: in certain villages twice a week, in others - once, but local people say that they are satisfied with it.

The AH budget paid UAH 179.5 thousand for this service for the whole 2018.

 

Landfills have disappeared

Another social initiative of the Kolomatska AH borrowed from Shelestove is a free garbage removal initiative. Before amalgamation, issues of waste disposal were addressed separately by each village council. According to Tetiana Obykhvost, head of the Department for Economic Development, Investments, Trade and Communal Ownership of the Kolomak Settlement Council, the garbage was removed from only two settlements - the village of Shelestove and the settlement of Kolomak.

"Garbage containers were only in these settlements. And when we formed an amalgamated hromada, we put them in almost all settlements and started waste removal," she says.

According to her data, the amalgamated hromada purchased 242 containers. In general, AH spent UAH 551.9 thousand for garbage removal last year.

Settlement Council will purchase housing 

 

Kolomatska AH will pay an additional bonus to young doctors this year. “We decided to pay UAH 50 thousand a year to each hromada doctor,” explained the settlement head.

Moreover, to help young doctors to stay and work in the hromada, the Kolomatska AH promised to buy housing for them. Doctors can personally choose it.

Bonuses to excellent pupils

The Kolomatska hromada invented bonuses for the school youth. Pupils will receive cash rewards from the AH for high achievements at state and oblast competitions. The settlement council believes it to raise hromada's image.

Budget is enough

The AH has enough budget funds to provide financial assistance to the population. And this is an important result of the reform of local self-government and proper use of its benefits.

Thus, within decentralisation, own revenues of the Kolomak Rayon grew by 20%: in 2017, before amalgamation, the rayon’s budget amounted to UAH 34.5 million, and in 2018 the AH budget had already UAH 41 million.

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