The mayor of Alfatar, Yankа Gospodinova (GERB), adheres to the principle of supporting the development of young people in the municipality. An example of the success of these efforts is the fact that Gospodinova has appointed her daughter’s boyfriend to two positions within the municipal administration, thus allowing him to receive two salaries from the local budget each month.
A series of inquiries under the Access to Public Information Act reveal that Dragomir Donkov, who is a friend of Veronika Gospodinova and lives with her, has been appointed as the mayor’s deputy in the village of Tsar Asen. This occurred after the local elections in 2019, when Yankа Gospodinova won her second term as mayor of Alfatar. The salary that the 22-year-old received for his role as the village’s deputy for a population of 130 was modest – 500 BGN.
The 24-year-old now holds two positions, from which he has been receiving corresponding salaries for the past year – as the mayor’s deputy in Tsar Asen and (according to the mayor of Alfatar) as the “acting” director of the family-type accommodation center for adults with mental disorders in the town.
As the acting director, however, Dragomir Donkov has been appointed under an employment contract for a full 8-hour workday with a salary of 1,300 BGN. Thus, by holding both positions, he receives a total of 1,800 BGN, funded by the local budget of Alfatar.
Mayor’s deputies are executive authorities in the locality, as stated in the Local Self-Government and Local Administration Act. They are appointed under an employment contract and full-time, but they can be dismissed early without notice by the municipality’s mayor. In the same manner, Dragomir could also be dismissed after becoming the director, but this has not occurred, allowing him to receive payment for both positions he currently occupies.
But the logical question is:
How does the young man manage to fulfill both positions simultaneously, especially considering that during his working hours he must be present in two different locations – Tsar Asen and Alfatar? Both positions have standard working hours. The mayor’s deputy is required to be at his workplace for 8 hours in the Tsar Asen mayor’s office. According to a directive from the mayor of Alfatar regarding working hours, published on the municipality’s website, employees in the administration, including mayors and their deputies, work from 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday to Friday.
At the same time, however, Dragomir must also fulfill his obligations under the employment contract for an 8-hour workday as the director of the Center for Individuals with Mental Disorders, and in practice, there is no way he could avoid violating the mayor’s directive.
When asked about Dragomir Donkov’s compensation as the director of the center, Yankа Gospodinova clarifies that he is entitled to remuneration for the work performed. Naturally, no one disputes this.
But is remuneration also due for unperformed work?
In both positions, Dragomir Donkov has important tasks. As the mayor’s deputy, he must provide administrative services to the people of the village and organize the execution of infrastructure, communal, and other tasks. As the director of the center, he is responsible for delivering the social service from the municipality to 15 individuals with mental disorders, overseeing 8 staff members who are also employed under an 8-hour work contract and… presumably in one location. Only the director who manages them is in two locations. And if he can indeed be in both places simultaneously, he merits his salaries.
