The mayor of Nedelino, Boyan Kehayov, declared BGN 114,848 in salary for 2025 — the highest among mayors in Smolyan Region. His income is 71% higher than the salary of Smolyan mayor Nikolay Melemov. At the same time, Nedelino Municipality had budgeted just BGN 438,250 in local tax revenue for the entire year.
The amount, equivalent to an average of BGN 9,571 per month, puts Kehayov at the top of the pay scale among mayors in Smolyan Region.
Meanwhile, the municipality he heads had budgeted just BGN 438,250 in local tax revenue for the entire year.
Kehayov is followed by the mayors of Dospat, Elin Radev, with BGN 103,446, and Chepelare, Boran Hadzhiev, with BGN 78,400.
Smolyan Mayor Nikolay Melemov declared BGN 67,184 in mayoral salary — 71%, or BGN 47,664, less than his counterpart in Nedelino.
The disparity becomes even more striking when Nedelino, home to 4,515 people, is compared with Bulgaria’s largest cities.
Boyan Kehayov’s annual salary is 45%, or BGN 35,834, higher than that of Plovdiv Mayor Kostadin Dimitrov, who declared BGN 79,014.
The difference with Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev is nearly 69%: Kotsev declared BGN 68,101.
The salary of Burgas Mayor Dimitar Nikolov, BGN 59,486, is almost half of Kehayov’s — a difference of 93%.
A salary equal to a quarter of local tax revenue
The high mayoral salary looks even more disproportionate against the municipality’s actual socio-economic situation.
According to National Statistical Institute data, unemployment in Nedelino reached a worrying 18.04% in 2025.
Another indicator of the state of the local economy is the fact that official data from the Employment Office show that only around ten vacancies were advertised across the entire municipality.
The lack of investment and severely contracted labour market are further deepening the demographic crisis and the depopulation of the area.
Kehayov’s salary also stands in sharp contrast to the financial capacity of Nedelino Municipality itself.
The adopted 2025 budget amounts to BGN 10.8 million, but it is financed almost entirely through state subsidies and transfers.
The municipality’s own revenue — from local taxes, fees and other income — was budgeted at a modest BGN 920,100.
Local tax revenue alone was set at BGN 438,250.
This means the mayor’s annual salary is equivalent to more than a quarter of all tax revenue flowing into the municipal treasury and 12.5% of all own-source revenue.
The mayor’s salary is determined by the Municipal Council, while the statutory ceiling is linked to the basic monthly salary of a minister.
The high salary of Nedelino’s mayor is therefore the result of a decision by the local legislature, rather than a consequence of the municipality’s demographic or economic indicators.
This inevitably raises the question: what management results justify the highest mayoral salary in the region against a backdrop of 18% unemployment, heavy dependence on the state budget and more than BGN 1 million in overdue liabilities carried over from previous years?
