YEREVAN — The Yerevan Municipal Council passed a decisive measure today establishing a new monthly salary framework for political, administrative, discretionary, and contract positions across the Yerevan Municipality and its administrative district offices. The approved decision, scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027, will result in significant pay raises for top municipal officials, according to figures released by opposition politicians.

Under the new system, salaries will be calculated by multiplying a fixed position coefficient by a baseline salary amount, which will be set annually within Yerevan's city budget. The approved annex outlines specific point tiers, assigning the highest coefficient of 25 points to the mayor of Yerevan, followed by 23 points for the first deputy mayor, and 22 points for deputy mayors.

While the new structure secures substantial salary increases on paper, it sparked intense debate during the council session:

Opposition Figures Reveal Massive Hikes: Mesrop Manukyan, an MP from the Armenia Alliance, detailed the sharp trajectory of the salary increases on Facebook. According to his post, the positions will see the following monthly compensation updates (converted using current exchange rates):

• Mayor: Up from 1,320,000 drams (~$3,648) to 2,080,000 drams (~$5,749)—an increase of 760,000 drams (~$2,100).
• First Deputy Mayor: Up from 1,020,000 drams (~$2,819) to 1,913,600 drams (~$5,289)—an increase of 893,600 drams (~$2,470).
• Deputy Mayor: Up from 952,000 drams (~$2,631) to 1,830,400 drams (~$5,059)—an increase of 878,400 drams (~$2,428).
• Head of an Administrative District: Up from 850,000 drams (~$2,349) to 1,248,000 drams (~$3,449).

Ruling Faction Defends Coefficients: Countering the opposition's framing, Armen Galjyan, head of the ruling Civil Contract faction, argued that the vote was not a standard salary hike but a technical adjustment to fix pay coefficients. The faction blocked an opposition proposal to subject the draft to a formal presentation. Galjyan asserted that when factoring in the elimination of previous bonus combinations, the transition to fixed numbers "essentially amounts to a reduction in salary."

The approved restructuring will standardize compensation across all levels of city technical support staff and civilian contract workers starting early next year.