You know, there is a nice saying in business I, personally, very fond of: “If you have not achieved anything during the year, you are supposed to achieve nothing ever”. We have already had the preliminary drafts 6 months before the end of the year. So what has the team of Maksym Golosnoy achieved over the last six months?

Today, the Maksym Golosnoy team consists of good Samaritans, 12 village council deputies (out of 14), and of the people that are not standing on the sidelines.

Against the world or Ukrainian perspectives, our gains are not formidable at all.  So far we can report about a full renewal and upgrade of the children’s playground, some elements of improvement, the road, some project works. We are also in the process of repairing and upgrading the electricity system as well as finishing building a kindergarten. We can also relate to the fact, that our budget has been over-executed, which is, in my opinion, the key marker..

A fairly narrow factors can facilitate to budget over-execution. What is it? Unfortunately, there is no income tax in a village. It doesn’t add to a village budget. A village budget is filled up by excise and land taxes.  That’s all.

Excise and  land taxes  are the major elements to fill up the village budget.  If we are lucky enough to organize an independent United Hromada, income taxes will add to our budget.  And, as I have already said, our village budget will total 1 mln dollars, respectively.

So, if not to count on words, Maksym Golosnoy and his team have over-executed the village budget by 1 mln hryvnas. Actually, this is the first million, supposed to be used for the needs of the village but not the district and its Kingmakers, who are trying to control something here by assuming an airs and putting on solemn faces.

What made it possible to over-execute the budget? For the first time in the history of Elizavetivka, we openly reconsidered a land tax rate for all land users of the village council of Elizavetivka.

For you not to confuse the facts, common people were not affected by the changes. The sum of their tax either remained the same or was reduced. So all is for common people.

For the people that took over big lands and do not cultivate it expecting to sell to foreign buyers upon moratorium is lifted, the land tax increased to maximum.

In fact, the village was always deceived by tax evasion.  All enterprises, located here which do not contribute to the local society, have become a subject to a tax rate increase at 10-12% out of 12%  possible.

But for the enterprises that co-work with the village council and strike partnership agreements, tax rate is only 6%.

The reaction was fairly interesting. They complain to everybody saying: “What a shame. What’s going on? What a morons!  Over 25 years we have paid 80 hryvnas per year and now we must pay 113 thousands for 1,5  hectars of the land. We will rebel!”

And we respond: “Guys, we have the act of land legislation – this is to begin with.  Then you building 200 garages more, but I haven’t seen a single document of registration for them.”

When representatives  of the district authorities come to me with the request to sort out this issue, I tell them that I make advances only for the members of Elizavetivka community,  for those people, who elected me.

I care only about those people, who live on this territory. But none, who owns even a single garage out of those 200 ones, are living on the territory of Elizavetivka. So these garages are of no use for the locals, so we unanimously made a decision about 12% at  the session of the village council.

When I met the district official and he asked: “Why shouldn’t we resolve the situation” I said: “I don’t care”.

Sometimes I am not as much polite.  As my task is to take care of our community. My task is to fill up budget.  On the one hand, you applaud me and say what a tough man Golosnoy is and what a cool village  Elizavetivka is  – they did 6 mlns for six months!

But could you guess, guys,  how it all happened? By the way, without any concealed decisions, through a transparent unified approach that states the following: if you live on the territory  and do not positively participate in the community’s life, you get the highest tax rate.

And when they say to me that this is unfair, I answer: “Dear, the law stipulates 12%, and I consider 13-14% unfair,  but 12% is fair and is required by the needs of the village council. The rest is a snot and lyrics, it’s a trivial covin. And its out of my competence.

If they threaten me with picketing or blocking a road, I respond: “Fine, go ahead. From my own side, I will apply to the law enforcement establishments and tax office and ask them to admit the fact, that all those garages and buildings of the same kind, and groups of such citizens do not have any ownership.

And I will ask them to sell everything from the auction in profit of state. And that will be fair. Do we  follow the law or the gangsta rules? “It’s unfair!”. So is it fair to pay 80 hryvnas per year?

I haven’t had a time to deal with the funding issues yet. Many do not pay, many would like to sue us.  But those who realized, that the times are changing and all will work in a particular way but not the other way round, who think about securing and expanding their business – they pay.

I think that if we approach the issue of property taxation in the right way,  the over- execution of the budget in the second half of the year will be much higher. Let’s not gain in advance. I am forced to follow this pattern as our State doesn’t go easy on us. It increases housing tariffs, gas and electricity tariffs. That is why we prioritize effectiveness and budget fulfillment for the development of our community. The rest, I am saying again, is lyrics not worth paying attention to.

Everything, Elizavetivka doesn’t benefit from, should disappear.  It can easily move to Kuryllivka, Petrikivka – anywhere, as this territory is going to be an area of economic development.

If you have a territory in use and are not able to pay a legally specified rate, if you are unwilling to make a social contribution, then the community raises a question of your uselessness.

We are not going to keep asking, begging or throwing the hooks.  We just levy with tax. That’s all.

We suggest a constructive dialog, understanding and a direction. Perfect!

The first social agreement was made with Myronivka Grain Product (the MHP Holding), the biggest enterprise of Elizavetivka. We also struck a fantastic agreement on the basis of a partnership with a Managing Director of the local poultry plant.

We agreed to cooperate only with the compliance to law – neither to the left, nor to the right.  I got fairly content with it. There is understanding and direction.

We discussed crucial issues, brought them to the session, ratified this agreement and I think it will bring positive results soon.

You know, authorities could have brought up this problem only before the elections, they could have promised whatever you wished, but only a few people were working on it hard.

And without a constructive dialogue and mutual understanding from both sided – a director and a volunteer, finding any conclusion is impossible.

Organize an effective business, participate in the life of the land community, be unique, be creative. The times when “I used a kind of a corruption schemes and luckily grabbed 1,5 hectares of land but I can’t farm it” are fading away.

If you grabbed the land and can’t farm it – pay, please.  If you are still not able to pay – we will sue you and you will get debt obligations and such an unsustainable scheme will be undoubtedly liquidated.

This isn’t a matter of Maksym Golosnoy. This is the changes that the times undergo as people have got tired of bad and seek for real improvements. And I see it in Elizavetivka.

I’m not launching any breath-taking projects, I just try to work honestly. As a rule, people react perfectly to any positive moments of change in their village. Maybe I will exaggerate by saying that if you do for a pound, the payback will come up to a thousands of pounds.

People are too tired of negative, they are waiting for changes. A new generation comes and starts changing everything.

I enjoy working at the village council. Why? 11 deputies out of 14 in my village council are new people, who are unfamiliar with intrigues of the past times, who didn’t get under press of the Yanukovitch  regime.

These people have not ever been intimidated or compassed. They decided to run their territory just after “the revolution of dignity”. And the process of decentralization starts from the grassroots.

Freedom is the key issue in politics. And I would strongly recommend the following. If you want something, that has never happened, start doing something, that you have never done before.

If to go from Dnepropetrovsk to Kiev in search for rich villages, with healthy environment, villages with well-maintained houses, solid fences – you will hardly find any.

And we are fighting for Crimea, Donetsk , Luhansk – yes, these are important, but guys, put your own house in order.

We saw that there are farmers, there are successful farms, but maximum 100 people out of 28 thousand of population of the Petrikovsky district are more or less well-off. These are farmers, the officials families, those people, who earn from the budget, their kith and kin.  That’s all. It means that people live in misery.

Generally speaking, time breaks the old system and the young are in charge of the future. I mean those young, independent, brave politicians, who are following me and are followed.

There is nobody to share experience with them, as the only behavior pattens of the Soviet times suggested. What I am trying to say is that I’ve not met a single person, who shaped their life views and behavior patterns in modern Ukraine since the times of Kravchuk.

We see a stereotyped model: “There is a shortage of money, what to do?” on the other hand, but on the other, a person has an expensive iPhone, a good car and they blame me that I have a salary, higher than an usual official has.

Yes, my salary is as much as the deputy corps and community of Elizavetivka assigned to me. Probably the biggest salary in the Petrikovsky district, but only until I doing good work for my community, for my village.

Maxim Golosnoy