In opinion of new Jurmala mayor, Truksnis has become a "playing coach"

Last fall, after failing to obtain clearance to work with state secrets, Jurmala Mayor Gatis Truksnis (Latvia’s Green Party) resigned from office. He was replaced as chairman of the council by Janis Ledins (Latvia’s Green Party), who, in an interview with LETA, compared Truksnis to a sports team captain who has become a playing coach. Although the resort town's council is often criticized by the opposition and the public, the mayor believes that the coalition is stable and continues to fulfill the promises made to voters.

Jurmala is the first and, for now, the only municipality where the elected mayor has not been granted access to state secrets. How and has this affected the work of the city council?

In fact, it has not affected anything at all. I would even say that this situation can be compared to a basketball team where the captain has become the playing coach. The coalition is stable and united, and nothing has changed in our work compared to how it was before. We worked as a team and continue to do so, so this cannot bring about any significant changes.

How do you assess this new regulation in general? Was it necessary?

In my opinion, the regulation has been adopted somewhat awkwardly. I am not saying that it is not necessary, because it probably is. But if the people delegate power in elections, then the clearance must be given to everyone. After that, the State Security Service must check whether anyone is abusing this clearance, and then take legal action. At the moment, it is the other way around - someone is hypothetically trying to say that someone should not be given access. Then all the talk starts about political influence, and rumors arise.

After Truksnis resigned, the opposition accused you and him of creating the position in new strategic planning committee especially for him.

No. In fact, strategic planning issues are among the most important in local government - territorial planning, all strategic development plans. They must be viewed from a unified perspective. Currently, each committee looks at issues from its own perspective, but there is no place where everything is brought together. Truksnis has the most experience in these matters, which is why such a committee was needed. We are now starting a new spatial plan, and knowing that it could take three or even four years, it is a huge and very serious undertaking.

The opposition and the public criticized the decision to raise entry toll into Jurmala. Do you still believe that this decision was correct?

Absolutely. If we believed that it was not correct, we would not have implemented it. Jurmala is a very specific city - long and narrow, about 40 kilometers from one end to the other, and in many places, traffic actually only runs along one street. If traffic jams form at any point, it causes huge problems for our municipal services and everyone else.

That is why we are thinking about ways to reduce car use among Jurmala residents, so we have free public transport, including the train to Riga, which means that many people leave their cars at the railway station and continue their journey by train. And what everyone usually refers to as park&ride is already happening in Jurmala in a way.

It is probably too early to tell how much visits to the city have changed since the toll was raised this year?

Yes, it is too early. But there is another point: we are being told to introduce more paid parking spaces so that we can earn more. Perhaps in terms of money, yes, but then we would actually be burdening the residents of Jurmala who live, for example, in Kemeri or Kauguri. They would immediately have to pay more to come to the center and park their cars. However, we think first and foremost about the residents of Jurmala.

What about tourists? Don't you think that the number of tourists could decrease in the summer due to the price increase?

I do not think so. You can compare it to traveling abroad - you can stay in a three-star hotel, but you can also stay in a five-star hotel, which will cost more. Every day, the beach is cleaned of seaweed, and the changing rooms, benches, sports areas, children's playgrounds, and trash cans are tidied up, and the toilets are free to use. These are all extras that you simply will not find elsewhere if you travel a little further. Everyone can choose whether they want these extras, but if they do, they have to pay for them.

Speaking of the budget, Jurmala was one of the first municipalities to adopt the 2026 budget last year. From the outside, it looks like a fairly optimistic revenue and expenditure plan.

We are working hard not only on revenues, but also on balancing expenditures. For example, we do not divide residents into poor and wealthy - if we give a discount, we give it to everyone. As soon as you draw a line, you immediately need employees to check whether that line is being observed, and that often costs more.

The same applies to museums, for example, which are free of charge in our municipality. We calculated that maintaining ticket offices, ticket inspectors, and all the administration for our number of visitors would be more expensive than subsidizing the museum and offering free admission.

Are there any plans that you have had to abandon or postpone this year?

There are always some plans that are put on hold. However, in any case, we will see how the budget is implemented. If there is an opportunity, we will add something, but if things do not go so well, we will have to slow down.

What are the biggest investment projects in the city this year?

About 30 percent of the budget goes to education, where we must continue to invest. There are things we need to finish, such as the flood protection system in Dzintari, where work had to be suspended for various reasons and now needs to be completed. The same applies to streets and roads. There are also issues related to kindergartens, such as the reconstruction of Bitite preschool.

When it comes to kindergartens and schools, Jurmala certainly cannot complain about the number of children, but what is the current network of educational institutions like?

We are assessing how it could be further optimized. For example, in Kauguri, schools are located relatively close to each other. However, it should be noted that we have a similar situation in the regions. The city is long and narrow, so we need to ensure accessibility everywhere, both in Priedaine and Kemeri.

Issues related to degraded buildings regularly appear on the agenda of Jurmala City Council meetings. Is this a big problem?

Unfortunately, there is not much the city can do about this issue. We can apply an increased property tax of 3 percent, but if the owner pays it, we cannot take the property away from him. We have also discussed this with the president, as there is such a property opposite his residence. If he pays, what can we do? If the Saeima agreed that we could apply, for example, a tenfold tax, then perhaps the owner would no longer be able to pay and would be forced to think about what to do.

Another problem is that many of the degraded buildings in Jurmala have cultural and historical monument status. The restoration of cultural and historical objects is extremely expensive, and such properties cannot simply be sold; the tax is paid, and the property stands. The owner waits to see if anyone will be willing to take on the restoration of such a cultural and historical object. In the meantime, the building remains as it is.

Jurmala has quite a few different support programs - both for entrepreneurs and for organizing events.

We are trying to fulfill what we promised before the elections. The first step this year was a 90 percent discount on property tax. Next, we will move on to what we promised, such as greater support for pensioners to purchase medicines and support for newborns. The plan is to increase this benefit to EUR 2,000.

Another recent development related to Jurmala is the tender for the position of board member of the Dzintari Concert Hall. What was it that dissatisfied the commission, and why was no winner selected?

First, the law stipulates that if 80 percent of a capital company's income comes from municipal subsidies, then it can no longer be a limited liability company (SIA) that has to make a profit. It must then be either an agency or an institution. Therefore, it is not appropriate for us to continue the tender and look for board members in the form of SIA, as the Dzintari Concert Hall will most likely become an agency in March. Then there will no longer be board members, there will be a completely different structure and also a different remuneration system. If a person applied for a position on the board, but then it turned out that such a position no longer existed, it would not be fair. The second aspect is that we also have a specific situation. Guntars Kirsis left his position as artistic director; he had raised the bar in artistic terms, but we also have to look at the economic side, so that the Dzintari Concert Hall not only flourishes artistically, but is also properly managed.

Until now, however, the concert hall's work has good, and there have been no significant problems?

In the artistic sphere, yes. Kirsis was an outstanding artistic director, but I would have many objections about the financial side of things. We probably placed too much trust in him, and the mistake was precisely in the control of the financial side.

So, it is about transforming it into an agency or institution?

Yes. Another idea is also a regional concert hall. In a way, I understand Rezekne, because they have invested funds in Gors concert hall. If the state wants to buy it back, then we would also be prepared to sell the Dzintari Concert Hall to the state. It is not cheap; our subsidy is around EUR 800,000 per year.

Does a regional concert hall mean the involvement of other municipalities?

Yes, with the other municipalities in Pieriga. Riga still does not have a concert hall. At the same time, state and European funding is only available if the concert hall is located at least 70 kilometers from Riga, which means that the Dzintari Concert Hall is entirely the responsibility of the municipality, both in terms of repairs and maintenance. That costs money.

How would you assess cooperation with neighboring municipalities in general, and what do you think it should be like?

In principle, we have no problems in this regard. Perhaps it is even easier for us because we are quite autonomous. We have our own public transport system and organize tenders ourselves. In general, we try to do everything that can be done through the private sector on a competitive basis.

But what about cooperation in the development of bicycle paths, for example?

We are developing bicycle paths so that you can ride through the whole of Jurmala. The president himself has acknowledged that it is currently possible to travel all the way to Ragaciems, entering Tukums. There is only one section that has not yet been completed. As it turns out, it is already being designed. I hope that it will be completed this summer, so that it will be possible to travel from Riga all the way to Ragaciems.

But is there cooperation with neighbors in other areas as well?

Yes, there is. The villages in the Tukums municipality- Bigaunciems, Lapmezciems, Ragaciems - use our schools, supermarkets, and services in Kauguri. Of course, many would like our neighbors to have free entry passes, but then the whole point of this system would be lost, because we would overload our only main street even more. That automatically creates problems for us.

The government recently approved an informative report on the hospital network. Is it already clear what role the Jurmala hospital will play?

I have not yet had time to familiarize myself with this particular informative report.

How would you rate the hospital's work overall?

I rate it very highly. If you compare the level of our hospital with many hospitals in Riga, you can see that we are in a very good position. Jurmala Hospital is one of the best.

Are there any plans to reassess the municipality's involvement in the Jurmala hospital?

No, the hospital largely earns its own income. Some years it operates at a profit, other years it operates at a slight loss, but this depends more on overall national healthcare policy.

How accessible are healthcare services for Jurmala residents in general? Are they sufficient, or do people still travel to the capital?

No one has complained about it in particular. We have a clinic in Kauguri, there is a hospital at the other end of the city, and we try to cover the whole city with these two institutions. Plus, there is cooperation, for example, with the Bulduri Hospital. It is a private company, but there are discounts for Jurmala residents.

What would the local government like to see from the state - perhaps not only financially, but also in terms of legislation? What is currently hindering local governments and where would greater state involvement be needed?

It is difficult to name just one thing. Of course, we always want more.

There is a lot of talk at the moment about the local government financial equalization fund. Many people say, rich Jurmala, but... This year, Jurmala is contributing around EUR 14.5 million to the equalization fund. This means that we are levelling out with everyone else, so you cannot really say that anymore. It is hard to say whether there will be changes in this regard; as far as I understand, discussions are still ongoing.

I would rather talk about other support mechanisms, which we have also discussed with the president. For example, seasonal workers. This model already exists in agriculture, but Jurmala, as a resort town, is very dependent on the season. It would be much easier for small cafes and small hotels to operate if they could hire seasonal workers without all the bureaucratic red tape, problems, and social security contributions that exist today. Just like in agriculture. We are fighting for this, and the president has promised to help. We will see how this develops, but it would be a real help to entrepreneurs in Jurmala. The second issue is personal income tax. Currently, the municipality has no real interest in supporting entrepreneurs if their employees are, for example, from Riga or Tukums, because the taxes go to other municipalities. Such companies actually give nothing to the municipality. It would be logical if at least 20 percent of the company's income tax went to the local government. Then we could talk about the local government having a real interest in supporting entrepreneurs, because part of this profit would return to the local government budget.

Coastal municipalities are raising concerns about planned restrictions in coastal areas and the planned trout farm near Roja and Mersrags. How do these activities affect you?

We predict that waste from the trout farms will be blown onto our beach by northwestern winds. Our specialists have prepared the municipality's opinion and conclusions on this issue.

There are not many small-scale fishermen in Jurmala; rather, fishermen from Tukums obtain licenses from us so that they can also operate here. As long as small-scale fishermen catch the fish, they do not affect the ecological situation or fish populations, as would be the case with large vessels. Small-scale fishermen should be left alone.