Poor Municipal Officials – FBK Rating

Experts of FBK Audit & Consulting Company rated the regions in respect of municipal officials being “cut off” from people by the findings of 2012. Based on the latest data of Rosstat the salaries of local officials (from local governments with executive-administrative functions) were compared with the average salaries in the region.
For the country at large an average monthly salary of local officials exceeded an average monthly salary in the country by 1% only in 2012 (in 2011 the excess was about 4%). And, besides, the salaries of local officials in 18 regions were found to be even lower than the monthly average in their regions. According to FBK analysts, the number of regions where municipal officials live worse than average statistical people has doubled over the year (9 - in 2011).

In Pskov Oblast, like in the previous year, the lowest average monthly salary was registered for local officials – 14988 roubles, which is by 23% lower than the modest amount of 19573 roubles – an average monthly salary in the region. Kemerovo Oblast and the City of Moscow are also listed among the outsiders; they switched their places compared to their rating in 2011. Though, a municipal official in the capital gets almost 2.5 times more than the one in Kemerovo (48395 versus 20603roubles).
The local government officials in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Territory make the highest earnings – 105384 roubles a month, by the data of 2012. But the salaries of local officials from still another region – Nenets Autonomous Territory – exceed the average salary in the region most - by 1.68 times.
“The picture with local officials’ salaries seems to be far from homogeneous” says  Igor Nikolaev, FBK Director of Strategic Analysis Department. “Only in some regions municipal officials are very much “alienated” from rank and file people. While in some others they are so far behind that a question arises about the quality of local administration and how sound motivation can be for the officials at such salary level”.