“As of 31 December 2025, the debt figure recorded by the Municipality of Messina is 10.6 million euros. In 2013 they were 382 million, in 2022 they were 95”. Mayor Federico Basile and his predecessor, Cateno De Luca, talk about numbers in a press conference that serves to take stock of the financial recovery of Palazzo Zanca. “Even for the investee companies – they add – in 2022 the debts of the old ATM, Messinambiente and Ato3 amounted to 143 million, which we had to eliminate from the rebalancing plan because the Court of Auditors asked us to. Today we reach around 75 million”.
With the biggest unknown linked to the 60 million euros of the old ATM, “on which one day a third party will comment”. Results that go hand in hand with those relating to taxes, outlined by councilor Roberto Cicala: “As far as Tari is concerned, since 2019 we have discovered 10 thousand utilities and 2.7 million square meters of phantom surfaces. We have fallen below 340 euros on average per family, we are the third to last metropolitan city in terms of Tari share for homes of 90 square meters with 3 members (303 euros). And in 2026 the rate will drop to 287 euros on average, with a further -5.2%”. In general, including the IMU and the other main taxes, “the collection capacity has brought collections from 69.1 million in 2017 to 92.5 million in 2025. The objective now is to reach 100 million”. All accompanied by a digitalisation process of the institution “which took us from 92nd place in Italy in 2018 to 14th in 2025”. Meanwhile, South calls North announces a new membership: that of the entrepreneur Gabriele Arcovito, who in 2022 was a candidate for the city council with the De Domenico Sindaco list and is now trying again alongside Basile.