Bulgaria Municipalities Debt to Climb to BGN 200 M End of 2009

Dora Yankova, Chair of the Muniucipalities Association. Photo by BGNES

By the end of this year, Bulgarian municipality budgets will be overspent by BGN 200 M.

This is the prediction made by Dora Yankova, Chair of the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria (NAMRB), and Mayor of Smolyan, as cited by BTA.

Yankova said that an increase in costs of over 75% as compared with last year, is leading to serious tensions and difficulties in making cuts to municipal services.

She also foresees a reduction in the income of local authorities of some BGN 400 - 500 M in comparison to plans made at the beginning of the year.

The shortfall of revenues from property owners will be about BGN 350 M, she stated. Already, receipts from the selling of real estate and housing construction are down by a half.

According to Yankova, these difficulties are due partly to the financial crisis, and partly to the critical position of the more impoverished municipalities.

Municipal legislators need to insist on "lessening non-transparency and vague criteria on the part of government agencies, and the transfer of responsibility directly to the municipalities".

In the meantime, mayors from the Smolyan District are proposing strict financial criteria to support the construction of roads in the mountain regions, where maintenance of infrastructure is more expensive.

However, there is no longer talk of increasing a commitment to the upland regions, following the earlier predictions made by the Association of Municipalities of a general shortfall of revenue by the end of the year.

 

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!