Zagreb Mayor disputes claims of increased city administration staff

Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević has refuted opposition claims that his administration has inflated the city's workforce. He asserted that the current number of employees in the city administration is actually lower than when he assumed office in June 2021.

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That is not true. I don't know who from the opposition gave you those figures. When we took over the management of the City in June 2021, there were more than 3,000 employees, I think even around 3,200. In these five years, we have never exceeded that number.

Responding to data suggesting an increase from 2,851 employees in 2021 to 3,008 this year, Tomašević called these figures inaccurate. He stated that the administration had over 3,000 employees, possibly around 3,200, when they took charge and have not exceeded that number since.

However, the mayor did not rule out future hiring. He explained that the scope of work within the city administration has expanded considerably. Tomašević pointed to an eightfold increase in capital investments, a greater need for architects and lawyers to manage construction projects, and the necessity for more officials to expedite building permits and improve urban order.

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If we build more, we need more architects and lawyers. If we want to issue building permits faster, we need more clerks. If we want better municipal order and more order in traffic and parking, we need more municipal and traffic wardens.

He emphasized that Zagreb is currently undertaking its largest investment cycle in history, successfully leveraging more European funds than ever before. Despite this surge in activity and citizen expectations, the administration has managed to maintain staffing levels below those inherited. Tomašević conceded that exceeding the previous employee count might become necessary to meet the demands of the larger budget, increased projects, and citizen expectations.

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The city has never drawn so much European money nor has it built as much as it is now. Despite this, we have not yet exceeded the number of employees we found when we took over the government. It is possible that we will have to exceed that number in the future because the budget, citizen expectations, and the number of projects are significantly larger than before.