"Zero" in Yerevan
The Council of Elders confirmed the 2011 budget of Yerevan.
On December 23, Yerevan's Council of Elders held its last session headed by Mayor of Yerevan Karen Karapetyan. The main issue on the agenda was the confirmation of Yerevan's budget for 2011.
The faction of "Bargavach Hayastan" proposed to make changes in the Council of Elders' decision "On setting the rates for local fines and payments in Yerevan". The fines for permitting the sale of cigarettes and alcohol were set by the principle of zones.
In regard to this, the mayor of Yerevan mentioned that the surface areas of trade pavilions must be taken into account when setting rates for fines in the future in order to have kiosks and supermarkets pay the same fine.
The plan for development of Yerevan in 2011 was confirmed as a guideline, taking into account that it will undergo changes in the year to come. Mayor Karen Karapetyan attached importance to the development of the concept on transportation and the improvement of the environment for investments as a strategic direction.
The Council of Elders confirmed the budget for Yerevan in 2011 presented by Head of the Finance Department at Yerevan Municipality Vahe Nikoyan.
The 2011 budget for Yerevan envisages 55,796,000,000 drams for income and 58,296,000,000 for expenditures. Nearly 4 billion drams is foreseen for the reserve and the part of expenditures has increased by 6.7 percent compared to last year..
During the session, the Council of Elders gave property tax privileges to creative unions and some physical persons by accepting the previously conducted studies as a basis for that.
Yerevan must correspond to standards of a touristic city
In his final speech, Mayor of Yerevan Karen Karapetyan mentioned that he expects the support from the Council of Elders for making changes in the city. The mayor spoke about increasing investments in the economy and promoting tourism. "Yerevan is the only city where there is zero tourism during the New Year celebration."
"No tourist wants to visit Yerevan during the New Year celebrations because all institutions are closed until 4-5 January. There are standards for a touristic city which Yerevan must definitely correspond to," said the mayor, emphasizing that by accepting the long-term development of the capital as a basis, the municipality must have and present different investment package proposals to businessmen.
