Former Engure regional council chairman Gundars Vaza (Latvian Association of Regions, LRA) has now become the mayor of the new Tukums region. The politician admits that the work in the new region is not easy because it now unites municipalities of different sizes. Even though many decisions have already been made, there is still much unknown in the work of the new municipality.

He has been elected to the position unanimously, but the coalition of the council consists of politicians, representing regions merged with the former Tukums region. Is the council stable and there will not be any overturns like in the previous Tukums regional council?

This cannot be completely prevented because the legislation provides that the council chairman can be removed at any council meeting. Right now, we have agreed on the work with the colleagues. Before we started cooperation, my demand was that the old grievances and quarrels should be forgotten. We can do much more when working together. Now, even though we represent different political parties, we are solving issues for our own people, and I do not see any huge disagreements.

More than a month has passed since the new council started work. What has been done during this period of time in relation to the administrative territorial reform?

It is not easy because municipalities of different sizes have merged. The merger that took place in 2009 was simpler because the participants were of equal size, but now the municipalities had been developing in different ways for the past 12 years. We have understood how we want to work and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

What are the biggest challenges? The local government said earlier that, for example, social benefits and structure of social services differed across municipalities.

Each municipality adopted its own budget in the previous composition and relied on these budgets by the end of the year. We have agreed to work with these social benefits as they had been planned in each municipality and try to harmonize them in the next year’s budget. The social service is working as one organism, but social benefits remain different so far.

Also, we have agreed on the work of the education board. Possibly, we should have communicated these issues before the elections, but the Covid-19 situation when people could not meet and discuss issues face-to-face created problems in communication.

Every former municipality had its own projects in plan, loan applications. Do you see that some of these plans should be dropped?

It is hard to tell right now. Most believably, we will implement 90 percent of these plans. There might be problems with renovation of a preschool in Tukums because construction costs have risen considerably. But this might be the only such project.

How do you see the school network in the region?

Optimization of school network has been carried out almost in all municipalities. In case any criteria and requirements are changed, two schools - Engure and Jaunpils - might face problems in relation with secondary education level. We do not see any problems in other schools.

Are there any plans in relation to merger of other institutions?

We will put together the overall structure by the end of the year, and then, most believably, we will assess how efficient it is. There is still much unknown. We have merged mechanically, but only with time it will be clear how many things work well in this way.

Do you see that you will be able to provide services also in other places, not only Tukums, which was one of the goals of the reform?

We should strive for that. Services should be accessible in every place. The question is about the quality.

During implementation of the administrative territorial reform, there were discussions about the planning region for Tukums. What are the benefits from joining a new planning region?

I do not see any loss from this change because during the time when we belonged to the Pieriga Planning Region, our municipality received less support for business representatives. It is logical that we belong to Kurzeme Planning Region. There could be questions about Zemgale or Kurzeme, but I am happy about joining Kurzeme. We have already had projects that we implemented together. And we share similar problems with Kurzeme Planning Region. Pieriga deals with completely different problems.

Why not Zemgale Planning Region?

In Zemgale Planning Region we would be the only region with a sea coast. The theme of sea is important for us, and we have had many related projects with Kurzeme Planning Region.

The summer was hot. Did you feel the flow of tourists?

Our historic Engure municipality has a very high tourist flow thanks to the warm summer, but every summer it brings along also waste management and other problems. There is a flow of people, it is nothing new. During Covid-19 outbreak, there is a flow of people in coastal areas during weekends, people have changed their habits, they are going for walks, and our territory by the sea faces a huge load at weekends.

How do you see the future of waste management company Piejura? Will the company continue to ensure waste management services?

The agreement has been signed for a period of seven years, three years have passed, and I think that in the coming four years nothing will change. The company should be put in order and continue work.

Have other municipal companies that so far worked in the merged municipalities been assessed?

Not all of them. We have done it in the large municipalities - Kandava, Tukums, but will still do the assessment in others. The companies are very different, and evaluation is necessary.

Is it clear how public utility services will be provided in the region? So far, for example, Kandava had had its own public utility company, while Tukums region had several.

This is the most painful issue, so far, we have taken different paths. Now we have agreed that we allow the municipal companies to work, we do not destroy them. Most believably, next year we will think what to do further in this area, which is very fragmented.

Should Tukums region have a wind park?

I believe that there should be a development. It is not the first such park in the world. Arguments such as ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ should not be the ones to decide the situation. The state also has obligations to use wind energy, we should meet the European directives. Legislation in this area though is not in order.

How has Covid-19 crisis affected the municipal budget? Does revenue from personal income tax meet the target?

The revenue is flowing in, there are sectors that are doing quite well in the current situation, and there are sectors not doing very well. In respect to catering companies, for example, it depends on the geographic location. Also, transportation services face complicated times.

Do business representatives ask the local government for help?

There are some cases, but they were solved in spring and last year. If there are applications and needs, we will review them.

Does the local government have information about how many teachers have vaccinated against Covid-19, getting ready for the new school year?

Of course, the situation could have been better. There are schools where 90 percent and more teachers have been vaccinated, and there are schools with less than 40 percent of teachers vaccinated. We are expecting the government decision to understand how we should act. Those who wished, have already vaccinated, but there will be people who will not do it.

There will be institutions where this will be a problem.

Does the local government plan to motivate teachers to get vaccinated in any way?

We have not discussed it yet in the local council. We are waiting for the government’s decision, regulations. Also, it will be easier for teachers to make the decisions when the regulations are clear.