The first thing that a resident of the village of Aragatz, in the Aragatzotn Marz, sees upon entering the community municipality building is a sign stating that those who haven’t paid their taxes need not waste their time by filing any sort of petition or form. They will not be accepted. Translated, the notice reads, “You cannot file any petition if you haven’t paid local taxes. By not paying, you have not only damaged yourself but the community as a whole.” The community takes the matter of non-payment so important that not only are the adults punished but their kids as well attending the local kindergarten. The next notice, affixed to the wall of the kindergarten,  reads, “Those families owing taxes to the village municipality who do not pay in the near term cannot send their children to the village kindergarten. Village Mayor Gagik Poghosyan explained to “Hetq” that the poster was put up last year as a warning to parents, but that no child had been turned away due to non-payment. “They are all our village children. Who would permit themselves to declare that your child cannot attend kindergarten? All we are trying to point out is that the kindergarten is run by the village and that taxes they pay go to the upkeep of the school and for their children,” said Mayor Poghosyan, adding that there were 4-5 families last year whose kids attended classes at the kindergarten who hadn’t paid any taxes. After the notice went up they paid a portion of what they owed. Despite the fact that the Municipality takes a tough line when it comes to getting residents perform their civic obligations, upon our visit, we found that the Municipality was at fault themselves. For instance, except for a few notices on the wall, we didn’t see any minutes of the municipal council meetings or the decisions they passed. Neither did we spot any budgetary reports. In response, Mayor Poghosyan stated that when it came to the budget and related work reports, the residents were informed in face to face conversations and not on paper. “Our flaw is that we haven’t affixed the decisions of the last municipal council meeting. We always fulfil this obligation. Even if I wish to hand out 10,000 AMD in assistance, as is my right, I get the permission of the council first.” Mayor Poghosyan confessed that about only 10-15 residents out of a village population of 4,000 show up for public hearings regarding the budget, adding that the most likely reason is that most trust him and the work he is doing. “Oftentimes I go around and ask residents specific questions about this or that topic. They answer back, ‘that’s your problem. We elected you, so we leave it to you.’” stated the mayor.