Vilnius city municipality right and left, they are throwing taxpayers' money. The opposition in the capital's council is making such accusations against the city government, pointing its fingers not only at the stuck national stadium project or investment in the Neris River, but also in the capital's advertising and concert-organizing agency "Go Vilnius."
The institution, which received more than 13 million euros from the municipality this year, is, according to the opposition, wasting money. Go Vilnius stands its ground - every taxpayer euro spent comes back with a bang.
An advertisement that appeared a year ago, in which Vilnius is called the pearl of Eastern Europe, caused outrage among some citizens.
The video shows homeless people loitering, residents urinating, hooligans, thieves, and Soviet-era outdoor toilets. Although the ad was intended to break down negative stereotypes in the minds of foreigners, people questioned whether it achieved that goal when it was released.
Go Vilnius also received criticism for the Rita Ora concert, which cost more than 400 thousand euros. Then Lithuanian producers publicly criticized the agency for a concert This information was provided at the last minute and therefore it is naive to expect that it will attract many tourists from abroad.
Internet users were also taken aback by an advertisement in which Go Vilnius boasted that it had more Michelin stars than Riga. However, according to communication experts, not all of Go Vilnius' communication is bad.
"The Šaltiborščiai Festival is one of the successful examples, because it is an attempt to create an identity," said communications expert Andrius Baranauskas.
The budget grows every year
The agency's budget is constantly growing - from 8 million euros in 2022 to more than 13 million this year. For several years now, Go Vilnius has been raising part of its funding directly from the tourist tax paid by hotels in the capital. This year, the municipality directly allocated more than 7 million euros to the agency, while the institution received a million less from the tax.
The city council opposition claims that Go Vilnius, which receives such generous funding, could work more efficiently.
"Projects that promote Vilnius are probably a minority in general, but free concerts, various artist visits, projects of friends and acquaintances are being done. <…> Not so much for Vilnius, but for the initiators of these ideas, the mayor and his team," said Vilnius City Council member Povilas Pinelis.
"There is a benefit, but it is disproportionate to the money allocated. I would have reduced funding in this area and hired an external agency to ensure that Vilnius is known to the world," Aleksandras Nemunaitis added to his colleague.
Go Vilnius manager Dovilė Aleksandravičienė explains that the institution is also experiencing new expenses that were not there before. For example, the flight promotion program, which aims to popularize routes, is allocated 1,6 million euros.
Earns more than the Prime Minister
The opposition is also troubled by the salaries received by Go Vilnius employees. The agency's head earns six and a half thousand euros, while the heads of departments and divisions earn almost 3000 euros each. According to the head, the agency allocates roughly a fifth of its budget to the salaries of 59 employees.
"Our salaries are determined based on the market median. True, they are lower than the market median, depending on the level and position," said D. Aleksandravičienė.
"The salary is abnormal. It is higher than the salaries of ministers or the salaries of heads of state. It is unjustified," P. Pinelis disagreed.
The salary of the head of "Go Vilnius" is higher than that of Mayor Valdas Benkunskas, who receives about 3800 euros. D. Aleksandravičienė's salary is several hundred euros higher than the monthly earnings of Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas.
"Cheap managers are very expensive. If we want to have good, competent managers, the times when heads of state-owned enterprises and heads of municipal enterprises received a few hundred euros in hand and collected the rest of the money along the way are over," said Administration Director Adomas Bužinskas.
According to the head of Go Vilnius, excluding salaries and the aforementioned flight promotion program, the agency allocates 700 thousand euros to promoting international conferences, another 300 thousand to the cold beer festival, and almost a million euros to the festival "Young as Vilnius."
"Every euro invested gives a return of 3 euros - 3,2 to be specific. This year we will aim for every euro invested to return 4 euros. If we invest 300 thousand, over a million euros will be returned to the city's businesses in various forms," explained D. Aleksandravičienė.
According to Go Vilnius, international conferences generate 60 million euros in value in the capital.
"Funds are not being saved, and in certain cases, we can safely say they are being squandered. <…> This company has allocated 15 thousand euros in its budget for microclimate research, and 40 thousand euros for team events. <…> With a staff of almost 50 employees, Go Vilnius hires many additional services, although it has its own specialists," said Vilnius City Council member Vydūnas Sadauskas.
He also has complaints about other projects.
The capital's opposition has comments not only about the agency "Go Vilnius."
"It's angry when you see that 4 million are being thrown into the Neris. Into a facility that is intended only for recreation and no one in normal capitals operates public transport through the Neris, because it is seasonal, and costs, and dredging, and ecological issues. This is really very angry," said V. Sadauskas.
Opposition politicians have comments about the cost-prohibitive construction of kindergartens and schools in the capital, the National Stadium project that is stalled in the European Commission, and the narrowing of streets.
"In an entity of this size, which manages about 400, maybe even over 400 objects, counting kindergartens and schools, there are 5 or 6 internal auditors. People are not even technically able to see who the municipality is distributing money to," said A. Nemunaitis.
"Could we stop some projects and not do them? Paving streets, schools, kindergartens - that's a fact, but we need to understand that in order for us to have the opportunity to collect more of the same GDP for defense, we need to stimulate the economy, show that we have it, that business is moving forward, so that even more international investments come here," said A. Bužinskas.
The budget of the city of Vilnius currently amounts to approximately one and a half billion euros.
Author: Karolis Klikna, TV3.lt
