The Latvian Association of Local Governments (LSS) sent a letter to government and municipal officials warning that the significant rise in costs for servicing the Unified Municipal Information System may force municipalities to abandon electronic document circulation, the organization reported, writes LETA.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Evika Silina ("New Unity"), Minister of Finance Arvils Aseradens ("New Unity"), ministries, the State Data Inspectorate, and other institutions, it is stated that the expenses proposed by LLC "ZZ Dats" for the next year will increase by up to 80% for some municipalities, and for others, they will nearly double.
The Latvian Association of Local Governments (LSS) emphasizes that the rapid rise in prices creates a risk of increased bureaucratic burden and administrative costs, and may lead to a return to paper document circulation.
The letter from the organization calls on government institutions to find long-term solutions to overcome the monopoly position in the market of information systems for municipalities and to support municipalities by ensuring the provision of quality digital services even in the context of a changing budget.
Latvian municipalities have been using the system developed by LLC "ZZ Dats" since 1997, which provides key solutions for the digitalization of municipal functions, including property tax administration, resident registration, and social services administration.
The LSS points out that despite years of use, municipalities do not own the system and are forced to cover the growing maintenance costs annually. Last year, LLC "ZZ Dats" already increased costs for all municipalities for 2025 by 30%, which was an unprecedented rise and led to additional administrative expenses in the budgets of municipalities.
If this issue is not resolved and municipalities are forced to revert to paper document circulation, it could significantly slow down the process of document and decision-making, warns the LSS.
The organization of municipalities also reminds of the cyber incident that occurred at the end of last year, when a massive leak of personal data affected all municipalities and led to reprimands and fines from the State Data Inspectorate. Despite this, the LSS notes, the mentioned commercial entity remains the sole provider of digitalization services for municipal functions.
According to information from "Firmas.lv", LLC "ZZ Dats" was registered in 1995. The company's share capital is 40,000 euros. 40% of the capital shares belong to the late Maris Ziems, 35% to Inga Zieme, and 25% to Edžus Jeirins. Last year, the company's turnover was 17.66 million euros, and profit was 3.49 million euros.
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