Mayor's debate with Galanopoulou on fire prevention and cleanliness

One highly polarized debate took place in cyberspace at popular group of Photo Cerigo on Wednesday, June 8, in the evening, with this year's fire protection issues as the backdrop. More specifically, the group “Photo Cerigo” shared the news certification of volunteer firefighters in Gythio as part of the Fire Department's efforts to staff its forces ahead of the summer. Shortly after the post Elina Galanopoulou, a resident of Aloizianika, commented sarcastically on the news, linking it to Kythira..After a few hours, he received the first response from the Mayor on the subject and on the «censure.» From then on the dialogue became heated in a polarized climate, and harsh words were exchanged. Read the dialogue in detail:

Elina Galanopoulou
«That's good, because given that the local authority has stated that it will NOT clear the settlements of weeds and debris/glass/tin cans and other flammable materials, as well as mountains of dry branches from pruning, many firefighters will be needed.».

Eustratios Charhalakis
«What you are writing is UNACCEPTABLE! Please retract your statement! And be very careful about what you put in the mouths of others! To clean 70 settlements, we need 120 workers! No mayor or municipality has ever cleaned all the settlements. We have been cleaning all the main roads for 15 days now, and the MINIMUM cleaning staff are going above and beyond every day to cover for the inconsiderate behavior of many (which you don't mention), so before you spew bile and sarcasm, publicly say THANK YOU to the cleaning staff who, again this year, will not take any holidays or days off and will work about 10 Saturdays so that the guests at your guesthouse will be satisfied with the level of cleanliness. The “rubbish/glass/tin cans” are collected daily by the ONE and ONLY crew that exists, but unfortunately the word “personal responsibility” in Tsirigo is unknown to many. So, THANK YOU to the staff, and no sarcasm...»

Elina Galanopoulou
«Not only will I not retract my statement, but tomorrow I will post new photos of the atrocities and garbage dumps. The island's administration has left tons of garbage and debris for months, the island's administration has not planned or carried out any cleanup anywhere, under the pretext that the cleaning staff are not allowed to enter fields and farmland, the island's administration has left mountains of dry branches. The administration collects huge amounts of municipal fees through electricity bills and from businesses as tourist fees, but the garbage is rotting. No, I'm not going to talk about the trash that residents throw away, because it's not my job to point fingers at them, it's your job. As for thanking the employees, why should I owe them that? Aren't they salaried employees? Aren't they obliged to do the job they were hired to do? But if they did their job, and you did yours, we wouldn't have mountains of garbage and flammable materials. The island is like a box of matches, and all it takes is one match to set it ablaze and cause destruction. No, I don't take it back, because you are paid to be a local government official with all the responsibilities that entails. When you decide to do your job, come and tell me that I forgot to say thank you. You owe me as a citizen; I owe you nothing because I pay you because you chose to do so. As for the one and only repair crew, it doesn't concern me; it's not my problem. I've seen mayors working like laborers instead of sitting around and pointing fingers at their citizens. I have seen municipalities across the country move forward, but they also had local authorities with empathy and social responsibility. Don't criticize me again because I have every right as a citizen to judge and criticize you since you are not producing any work. You cannot judge me. Do you understand, Stratos? Your role, which you chose, is different from mine.

Eustratios Charhalakis
«1. The island's administration is struggling with minimal staff to clean 70 settlements. Staff that we are NOT responsible for hiring, increasing, reducing, or dismissing. That's how many we have, and that's how many we work with.
2. The island's administration is NOT obliged to collect rubbish and debris from the lagoons and mountain peaks. We are obliged to collect household waste and recyclables, which we do with great success (unless you have complaints about that too...). Construction and demolition waste requires SPECIAL management, SPECIAL machinery, and SPECIAL personnel that we do NOT have. The only AEKK collection machine CANNOT empty 15 bulky bins across the island every day. So let's apply the Regulation: removal of ALL bulky waste bins and obligation of residents to transport bulky waste to Lachno by their own means and paying the relevant special fee. Shall we do it?;
3. You are extremely bold and profoundly rude when you write that the fees collected are not reciprocated. Your statement has other implications, but I will leave those aside for now. They are recouped 20-fold, with the municipality's enormous expenditures on water supply, electricity, sanitation, road works and renovations, etc. We collect approximately 1,200,000 per year and spend almost 40 on development projects! Do you know why? Because we do NOT sit around, we do NOT sleep, we are NOT «lazy» as you so rudely claim. We fight, we struggle, we argue every day with the Central Administration over countless issues that you are obviously unaware of, issues that concern the whole island and all citizens, not just you.
4. YES, you will thank the employees. Because for a minimal salary (€800 per month for cleaning staff), they will work on Saturdays AND public holidays during the summer, which they are NOT obliged to do, and often they will work at night, which they are also NOT obliged to do. So, YES, you will say THANK YOU to them, and you will mean it.
5. I'll return these payroll issues to you. I can't stoop that low. I'm not paid to perform miracles, nor to hire as many staff as I want, whenever I want, nor to do whatever I feel like. There are laws and procedures, whether you like it or not. On October 8, 2023, run for mayor and come and implement your own amazing ideas. I'll vote for you anyway!
6. The mayors you have seen «working like laborers» demonstrate the decline of local government. I take my hat off to them, but I do NOT share their attitude, and I have told them so. Really, when did you say BRAVO to Deputy Mayor Katsanevakis, who ran the recycling program for months without it being his responsibility? When did you say "BRAVO" to Deputy Mayor Zantiotis, who works as a plumber in the middle of the day at 42 degrees (!) without having any obligation to do so? When did you say BRAVO to the local presidents who, for 300 euros a month, perform duties that belong exclusively to civil servants who do NOT exist? When did you say BRAVO to the Mayor who, instead of dealing exclusively with development and local government issues (as required by his role), often stays up late into the night to draft documents (I have written 5,500 documents myself from 2014 to today!), posts them on Diafgeia, and acts as the Secretary of his Municipality? Never! If you believe in this local government, that's your right. I believe in a local government that has the staff and tools to do its job and where elected officials don't drive garbage trucks.
7. If you take a walk around the island, the ENTIRE island, from Moudari to Kapsali, you will see whether I am producing work or not. I am VERY proud of my work, VERY proud of my team and my colleagues, VERY grateful to the small staff of the Municipality, who handle projects worth 40 million euros, without any support whatsoever. And so I will continue to do so.
8. Regarding civil protection issues, I refer you to the recent decision of the Supreme Court. Unless you are of the opinion that we should buy our own Canadair aircraft: https://diavgeia.gov.gr/…/%CE%A80%CE%968%CE%A9%CE%9B%CE…
9. Good night...»

Elina Galanopoulou
«Eustratios Charhalakis Blah, blah, blah, you forgot to put a sign on the logidrio, Mayor: On behalf of Mayor Eustratios Charhalakis. It goes without saying that I will also appeal to Civil Protection and wherever else I see photos and similar comments.».

Eustratios Charhalakis
«Don't forget to ask them to send us a Canadair. And if they don't have a pilot, don't worry! The mayor will fly it! We'll pay him €1,740 a month! He can learn to fly too! Also, ask for a D12 machine to climb the slopes and level the mountains. And the mayor will drive that too! He gets paid that much!»

Elina Galanopoulou
«Come on, Mayor, you're acting like a hysterical populist loudmouth. You'll run again because there are no other candidates and your opponents are on the verge of collapse. No one can stand your constant verbiage devoid of substance, meaning, and significance. You'll submit a few more studies that are impossible to subsidize, man, not even Macedonia/Crete/Peloponnese are asking for such amounts. To show that you are doing something, you will distribute some kind of activity and put up signs under streetlights that lead the locals either to insomnia or to embroidery.

Eustratios Charhalakis
«Thank you for comparing us to Macedonia (the normal one, not the northern one), the Peloponnese, and Crete! Well done to us if we are compared to them! The 40 million are real projects that the island has been asking for for many years, so you can go to the Presidents and tell them that the Mayor is a verbose person because he asks for a lot of money for his place. Please do so! And one question: under which globe did I put a sign with my name on it?.

Eustratios Charhalakis
«Why don't you go and tell the residents and professionals of Agia Pelagia that I am a verbose person because I demand (and achieve, which you are concealing, of course...) major projects such as this one?; https://kythira.gr/…/xekinaei-to-neo-diktyo-ydreysis…/»

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