Half of the larger cities in the Pardubice Region have a city architect

For many years, Karel Thér was the city architect in Chrudim. The city recently announced a selection procedure for his successor.

Pardubice - About half of the cities with extended powers in the Pardubice region continuously use the services of a city architect. With one exception, they are all external experts. The city hall pays him tens to hundreds of thousands of crowns annually, ČTK found out.
     Chrudim recently announced a selection process for the position of city architect. Karel Thér, who is also a councilor, held this position for several years. The new architect will receive an annual remuneration of up to 200,000 crowns for work amounting to 60 hours per month and for possible participation in meetings of the council, the assembly, and committees, especially the construction and city development committee, similar to what has been the case so far.
     Approximately the same amount was obtained last year from the city hall in Vysoké Mýto in the Orlickoústecko region by the Pardubice architect Milan Košař. He has been the city architect since 1993. "He has dealt and continues to deal with all investment projects of the city. The agreed hourly rate for the architect's work is 550 crowns, and only the actual hours worked are billed to the city," said city spokesperson Marie Lněničková.
     Košař also served as a city architect in Ústí nad Orlicí for a long time, but the city has had another specialist since April this year. Annual costs for this position range from 30,000 to 40,000 crowns.
     Since last year, the town of Žamberk in the Orlickoústecko region has also had an external city architect. "He was tasked with establishing binding indicators for different types of buildings in accordance with the zoning plan and development areas, to maintain the characteristic character of the area and the corresponding urbanism," said Mayor Jiří Dytrt, who considers the position of city architect necessary for every city. The external expert works according to the needs and assignments of the city, and Žamberk has allocated up to 30,000 crowns for his activities this year.
     Since 1991, Litomyšl in the Svitavy region has had the position of an external city architect established. For consulting and advisory activities for individuals and designers related to the preparation of project documentation and tasks according to the city hall's requirements, architect Zdeňka Vydrová received 76,000 crowns annually.
     Since 1992, the town hall in Česká Třebová in the Orlickoústecko region has also turned to a long-term contracted specialist. Including travel and other minor expenses for his services, it pays up to 130,000 crowns annually.
     Among the district towns, only Svitavy does not have a city architect. "Even without this position, the city managed to carry out the reconstruction of the square and several other buildings, which are very positively evaluated by the professional architectural community," said secretary Lubomír Dobeš.
     The only city that has a city architect in an employment relationship is Pardubice. Petra Nacu has held this position since 2009. Before that, this post had not been established for a long time; the city hall at least had an advisory body composed of architects from three generations in 2006. However, its activities ended after a year.