Lembergs sees no benefits from a possible merger of the city and municipality

At a press conference, Lembergs recalled that the city is the centre for administrative, cultural, sporting, healthcare and transport services for residents of the municipality, while the municipality also holds Parish Day at the city museum. The population of Ventspils is reportedly three times larger than that of the municipality, and “people in the municipality know their problems better than city residents do.”

“I see no benefits,” the city mayor said, commenting on the possible merger and asserting that the opinion of the municipality’s leadership should also be heard.

The council chairman also stated that the aim of the territorial reform was to eliminate small rural schools, forcing children from the municipality to travel to cities for their studies, which, in his view, was wrong. The government must take into account that, for example, the population density in Ventspils Municipality is six people per square kilometre and will never reach 100 people per square kilometre, as is the case in the area around Riga, the Ventspils mayor believes.

As reported, the draft law prepared by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development on continuing the administrative territorial reform provides for its implementation by the next local government elections in 2021.

The drafting of a new Law on Administrative Territories and Populated Areas and its submission to the Cabinet of Ministers is scheduled by 1 December 2019. The law is expected to be adopted by the Saeima by 1 June 2020.