Truksnis takes over as head of Jūrmala mayor’s office

Former Jūrmala City Council chair and current council member Gatis Truksnis of the Latvian Green Party has become head of Mayor Jānis Lediņš’s office, LSM reports, citing information on the resort city’s municipal website. The appointment follows predictions by the council opposition.

Ingrīda Vilkārse, who previously headed the mayor’s office under both Lediņš and Truksnis, has become deputy head of the office.

The office also employs council chair’s adviser Emīls Rokjānis, assistants Inguna Auniņa and Indra Kalvāne, senior secretary Sandra Caune and secretary Arnis Osis.

Jūrmala’s opposition had previously suggested that a new position could be created for the city’s former mayor. The municipal employee list replaced the position of senior legal counsel in the mayor’s office with that of deputy head. The position was also assigned a higher salary, ranging from 2,009 to 5,000 euros depending on qualifications, council members were told at a meeting.

Council member Andris Čuda of the National Alliance suspected that, as in Ogre Municipality, where former mayor Egils Helmanis became head of the council chair’s office, the changes in Jūrmala were linked to creating a new position for Truksnis.

The mayor’s office is responsible for organising and planning the work of the council chair and deputy chair. It analyses how the municipality’s strategic goals align with national and regional priorities, provides opinions on policy, financial, cultural, educational, economic and public-relations issues, and gathers and analyses information to support the officials’ work.

The office also monitors the implementation of decisions made at the chair’s planning meetings and coordinates the chair’s and deputy chair’s participation in official state and other working visits, meetings, and cultural and sporting events.