The Goris Municipal Council on Jul. 14, 2012, adopted a decision proposed by the mayor to release several residents — mainly Goris Municipal Council members — from paying taxes on their motor vehicles.

Owners of Mercedes, Toyota, Chevrolet, and BMW cars were granted tax privileges to the tune of about 400,000 AMD. Needless to say, civil society representatives in this southeastern Armenian city have expressed their concerns.

The dispute between those against and those for the tax privilege (naturally, those who were granted the privilege) ended with personal insults, petty fights, and constant disapproval. Talk of the artificial cuts to the municipal budget was forgotten over time, naturally paving the way for new tyranny, and not only for Goris' municipal authorities.

In its Dec. 25, 2013 meeting, Sisian Municipal Council, leaving the number of staff unchanged, proposed raising city hall employees' salaries by 20–90%, a move that Council members Srbuhi Grigoryan and Hamlet Babayan opposed, saying that the proposed salary increase should be applied also to staff of organizations funded by the local budget.

 "It's not right that the municipality's driver, secretary, and delivery boy get a salary that's 1.5 times more than [the salary of the head of an institution under the community's jurisdiction," argues Babayan, whereas Grigoryan suggests postponing the issue, taking into consideration the proposed increase in the minimum wage planned for July. The decision, however, was adopted with only two abstentions (Babayan and Grigoryan).

As a result, Sisian's 2014 municipal budget will increase by 14 million AMD in expenditures. Since revenue is not expected to increase in 2014 (according to the budget approved at the same meeting), where is this money going to come from? 

The Ministry of Territorial Administration in 2014 intends to develop an optimal model of staffing at local community councils and of the structure and composition of institutions under community jurisdictions. Perhaps Sisian municipality employees' artificially inflated salaries and the suitability of staff of institutions under Goris' jurisdiction, such as the park's three choreographers and camera operator, the cinematheque (which has long not existed), and various museums' alleged researchers, among others, could be discussed then.