Organizing the work of starosta and the areas of his or her responsibility were among the issues Iryna Nedobuha, starosta of the Komysh-Zoria Village Council, Zaporizhia oblast, told about at a workshop Organizing the Performance of Oversight Functions by the Starosta, which took place within the framework of a U-LEAD with Europe Programme training course entitled Steps for Starostas 2021.
In Nedobuha's words, among the very many powers and responsibilities vested with the starosta of the Komysh-Zoria Community, there are two priorities and areas of activity – participating in the implementation of projects within the community and developing starosta districts.
The Municipal Development Program for the Komysh-Zoria Village Council is underway within the community, and it provides financing for the municipal development activities via the local budget, partial financing for public works, and purchasing the necessary tools and materials. Local residents from among the unemployed registered with the Employment Agency, which provides co-financing for public works as well, are engaged in municipal development activities.
"In the Blagovishchenka Starosta District, which falls into my authority, there are three public service workers who work three weeks a month from April to November and who are engaged in mowing and cleaning up activities in the village center, cleaning up sidewalks, the playground, sports ground, stadium, whitewashing tree trunks and curbs. While performing their duties, they are accountable and subordinated to the starosta. The workers are provided with the necessary tools and accessories,"
said the starosta.
Significant efforts are needed to introduce proper order at cemeteries, with eight of these being located in the starosta district. They cover an area of more than nine hectares.
"The population is getting older. And elderly people are not able to look after the graves of their loved ones, which is why the community has included the item of introduction of proper order at the cemeteries in the Municipal Development Program (i.e. put it on the program list). The amount of work has increased significantly, but the community residents are very grateful,"
Iryna Nedobuha noted.
In the Komysh-Zoria Community, the issue of lighting and replacement of street light bulbs is also monitored by the starosta. In the Blagovishchenka Starosta District, all the streets in villages are lit. However, according to the starosta, some lights and lighting networks require renovating. Therefore, acting in cooperation with activists and local council members, the starosta has developed a project to modernize the lighting network and is currently looking for alternative sources of financing for its implementation.
In Iryna Nedobuha's words, the starosta's activity involves two components, i.e. a technical and a "live" one.
The "live" component is about communication with residents, the ability to organize and hear people. She believes that the starosta's initiative that is supported by the public is the key to success. As an example, the starosta also refers to free collective labor, in which her hromada residents are engaged, as well as the outdoor playground design competitions, and other activities.
"In the village of Blagovishchenka, the bus stop was in damaged condition. We built a new one, arranged the territory around it. And you know, I once overheard a conversation between the residents who said that the bus stop was nice, and everything seemed to be fine, but still something was missing. And I realized what it was. The bus stop lacked brightness and colour. We decided to announce the best bus stop design competition. This resulted in receiving thirty-seven design projects. The competition commission chose the best design and now, right in the center of the village, our guests and residents can see the refurbished bus stop, which has become a place where people like to take photographs,"
said Iryna Nedobuha. She went on to state that she had a a lot of joint plans with the villagers to improve the municipality.
The starosta of the Komysh-Zoria Community noted that participating in the training was highly valuable – one can gain knowledge, share his or her experience, as well as hear expert views to support one's own opinion.
"I am convinced that there should be a municipal development inspector in every community. While reviewing the development strategy, our community starostas and I came up with a proposal to add such an item as establishing the position of Municipal Development Inspector to the Area Development and Solid Waste Management Operational Objectives. And today, both experts and colleagues from the Trostianets Community talked about it, and they proved the correctness of taken actions. It will also add to boosting self-confidence in terms of the ability to improve municipal development,"
she said.
For seven weeks now, 300 starostas from different Ukrainian communities have participated in the Steps for Starostas 2021 Programme.
"Zaporizhia Oblast is represented by twenty-one starostas from fourteen amalgamated territorial communities in the region. During the training sessions and workshops, the participants learn a lot of useful information from U-LEAD experts and trainers, but the ‘high point' of the training is exchanging experiences and communication between the colleagues,"
stated Tetiana Bordiuh, head of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme Zaporizhia Oblast Regional Office. She added that due to a high demand for training among the Ukrainian starostas, U-LEAD was going to conduct one more training programme for another group in the spring of 2022. Besides, consultations and training sessions for those starostas who have not been selected to participate in both programs are conducted at the facilities of U-LEAD regional offices.