A proposed solution for the financial and service-related problems of village and neighborhood heads (muhtars)

Village and neighborhood heads (muhtars) have no income other than collective labor (imece) and fees to serve the residents of their neighborhoods or villages. To provide timely and on-site services, they must have a budget at their disposal. Municipalities provide in-kind assistance to muhtars at regular intervals; however, this causes municipalities to face compensation claims or public losses during Court of Accounts (Sayıştay) audits.

It is urgent to resolve these grievances of muhtars, who are seen as the state's representatives in neighborhoods—the smallest unit of local government—and who often act as opinion leaders in many neighborhoods.

Article 20 of Law No. 4541 on the Establishment of Neighborhood Muhtars and Councils of Elders in Cities and Towns states: "Fees shall be collected from business owners in return for services provided by neighborhood muhtars and councils of elders, and the amount of the fee collected shall be indicated on the documents and records."

Article 21 of the same Law states: "Fees belong exclusively to the muhtars. Expenses necessary for the conduct of muhtar office affairs, such as rent, heating, lighting, and janitorial fees, shall be paid from these fees," specifying that mandatory expenses such as rent, heating, lighting, and janitorial fees for managing muhtar office affairs are to be paid from these fees.

On the other hand, Article 1 of the Muhtar Allowance and Social Security Law No. 2108 states:

"Village muhtars and city and town neighborhood muhtars shall be given a monthly allowance in an amount calculated by multiplying the indicator figure of 14,750 by the civil servant monthly coefficient.

This allowance is not subject to any tax or deduction, except for stamp duty. If the net amount of this allowance falls below the net minimum wage, the difference shall be paid separately without being subject to any tax or deduction, within the framework of the procedures and principles stipulated for the allowance.

The third paragraph of Article 9 of the Municipal Law No. 5393, titled "Neighborhood and Its Administration," states:

"The municipality shall provide the necessary in-kind assistance and support within the limits of its budget possibilities to meet the needs of the neighborhood and the muhtar's office and to solve their problems; it shall take into account the common wishes of the neighborhood residents in its decisions and strive to ensure that services are carried out in accordance with the needs of the neighborhood," expressing that the municipality will provide the necessary in-kind assistance and support within its budget limits to meet the needs of the neighborhood and the muhtar's office.

As can be seen from the legislative provisions mentioned above, a monthly allowance has been allocated to muhtars, and they have been provided with the opportunity to generate fee income from the documents they issue. Expenses necessary for the conduct of muhtar office affairs must be covered by these fee revenues.

On the other hand, the municipality can provide in-kind assistance in line with its budget possibilities, taking into account the needs of the neighborhood and the muhtar's office. The term "support" mentioned in the legislation also covers assistance of an in-kind nature. In this context, it is in accordance with legal regulations to interpret the term "support" used in the wording of the Law as covering general expenses of an in-kind nature, such as telephone, lighting, heating, and rent, in cases where the income obtained by muhtars from the fees they collect is insufficient to cover their expenses.

However, as stated in the decision of the Court of Accounts Appeals Board dated 07.02.2024 and numbered 56446: "In this respect, since a public loss was caused by making regular cash payments in the nature of salary and payments under the name of holiday bonuses to all muhtar offices in the ... ... district, in addition to in-kind assistance, the appeal request of the responsible parties is REJECTED and the compensation judgment in the amount of ... TL given by Article 4 of Verdict No. 70 is UPHELD";

- It does not appear possible to make regular cash payments in the nature of salary or payments under the name of holiday bonuses.

To solve the financial problems of muhtars, it would be appropriate to allocate an annual allowance of 50,000 TL for each muhtar office in the central or local government budgets, to be paid according to population, so that they can cover their annual expenses and serve the local people better.