Trung Son is a particularly disadvantaged commune in the western part of Thanh Hoa province, spanning a natural area of over 7,600 hectares, comprising six villages with 790 households and 3,190 residents. The combined poor and near-poor household rate exceeds 50 percent.

Even after the province assigned eight additional cadres, Trung Son commune reached only 36 out of its 58 allocated staff quotas.

Trung Son (formerly in Quan Hoa district) was one of two communes exempt from administrative mergers. However, after the operational rollout of the two-tier local government model, numerous leadership and management positions in the commune People's Committee remain unfilled due to a shortage of qualified personnel.

At the economic division, after the district level was abolished, a specialist from the former District Agriculture and Environment Division was rotated down to serve as head of the unit. The cultural division is likewise headed by a specialist from the former District Education Division.

Truong Duc Vu, head of the Culture Division in Trung Son Commune, said the unit currently has only four staff members, each responsible for several areas of work.

Notably, because the commune's Public Service Center has no dedicated staff, work related to culture, information and communications, and public outreach continues to be assigned to the Culture Division.

Although he heads the division, Vu does more than provide policy advice and carry out management duties. He regularly works directly in the community, performing tasks ranging from putting up flags and writing radio bulletins to posting information on the commune's official website.

According to Ha Thi Nga, secretary of the Trung Son Commune Party Committee, the local authority's main challenge is not necessarily the sheer volume of work. The bigger problem is that its workforce is too small, with many positions vacant and a shortage of staff with appropriate professional expertise.

Notably, more than a year after its establishment, the commune's Public Service Center still has no dedicated staff.

Nga said that when specialized expertise is required, such as for project appraisals, the commune has to seek advice from provincial authorities or hire consulting firms. Meanwhile, duties involving culture, public outreach, broadcasting, photography, and writing news and articles for the commune's website continue to fall on several divisions that are already understaffed.

The Party Committee secretary said Trung Son is a mountainous commune located about 200km from the provincial center, where transportation and living conditions remain difficult. More suitable policies are needed to attract staff to work there.

“If the benefits offered in Trung Son are comparable to those in communes closer to the center, it will be very difficult to persuade officials to volunteer to work here. To attract people with professional expertise, especially to the Public Service Center, we need policies that provide a strong enough incentive,” Nga said.

Commune vice chair doubles as center director

Staff shortages are not confined to Trung Son. In the border commune of Yen Khuong, the Public Service Center has just one employee. To ensure the center has a leader and can operate according to its assigned functions and duties, Tran Quoc Khanh, vice chair of the commune People's Committee, has had to take on the additional role of director.

Khanh said the center currently has only one staff member, Ho Minh Hung, born in 1975. Hung previously worked as a technical employee specializing in repairing loudspeakers and audio equipment at the former Lang Chanh District Cultural Center.

After the two-tier local government system was introduced, Hung was transferred to the Public Service Center in Yen Khuong Commune.

Previously responsible for repairing equipment, Hung must now also handle a range of tasks related to culture, information and communications, and public outreach.

With no other staff to help, he has to write news reports, edit articles, produce content for the commune's information platforms and prepare radio programs.

Hung’s home is 30km from the commune People's Committee headquarters and he can barely return home on weekdays, usually having to stay at the office. He takes advantage of weekends to visit his family.

At times, his work extends into Saturdays and Sundays, making trips home increasingly infrequent.

In addition to its staffing shortage, the Yen Khuong Commune Public Service Center does not have its own premises.

Its office and the area housing broadcasting equipment are located in the commune's communal kitchen. To ensure news updates and daily broadcasts go out on time, Hung has to set up his desk right next to the equipment room.

Le Duong