Cash-strapped Russian mayor offers town hall for sale

The building - seen here in 2012 - stands on a leafy street not far from the beach

A Russian mayor has announced that he's putting the town hall up for sale in order to fund local services.

Alexei Zalivatsky heads the administration in Yantarny, a small coastal town in Kaliningrad Region, and says financial pressures have left him with few options. "I cannot and don't want to cut back on social services, there is nothing to cut there, and I have already promised the refurbishment of kindergartens and schools," he writes in a lengthy Facebook post.

The mayor says while the situation is difficult, he has no intention of "sitting and moaning about it", and won't take on more debt. His proposal has made headlines on several popular Russian news websites.

He says the sizeable building, which covers 941 sq m (10,128 sq ft) plus generous grounds, would be ideal as a hotel - in fact there's already one just next door. The price tag is to be decided through an independent valuation, but the plan is to hold an auction for the site. The only stipulation is that the new buyer gives officials time to move out.

A few people responding to Mr Zalivatsky's post wonder if it's all a PR stunt, but others heap praise on him. "Thanks for openly sharing pressing problems with us... while Yantarny has such a mayor, nothing is insurmountable!" one woman writes. Another says she's "never been so surprised" by a mayor's decision in all her years living in the town: "Mr Zalivatsky, respect to you! You're a good man to have in charge!" she says.

As for where the administration's new office will be, that's still up in the air. In response to one person asking what the plan is, the mayor jokingly suggests that perhaps they could all move to the beach.

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