Saaremaa municipality plans to cut staff by nearly 10%

Saaremaa municipality plans to reduce its number of officials from 180 to 164 from the start of next year, with savings of more than 100,000 euros used for pay rises, ERR reports.

The changes follow a structural review by the coalition of Isamaa, the Centre Party and the Reform Party, which has been in power in the municipality for a year. Saaremaa Mayor Rainer Antsaar said the savings would be shared among the officials who remain.

The restructuring will also affect rural areas. The number of service centre heads will fall from 13 to eight, leaving some officials responsible for areas that belonged to several former municipalities.

Opposition council member Madis Kallas said the change meant residents would no longer have a municipal official in every local centre. He said this undermined the idea of a united Saaremaa, which had been central to the merger agreement signed around a decade ago.

Tiit Aavik, head of the Valjala service centre, said the larger areas would be difficult for one person to manage, and noted that some residents were used to visiting a local service centre rather than travelling to the municipal government in Kuressaare.

Antsaar said 99 percent of communication with regional administrators and service centres already takes place by phone or email. He added that the administrators travel around their areas, are available by phone and can arrange in-person appointments.

The municipality also hopes that officials who currently travel many kilometres from rural areas to Kuressaare will be able to work more often from municipal buildings closer to home.

Saaremaa municipality was formed nine years ago.