With eleven votes in favor, three abstentions and two against, the Budget Committee, chaired by the councilor Giuseppe Cuzzocreaapproved the Management report for the 2024 exercise. A result of the work done in the preparatory phases by the same commission and its president. In addition to the city councilors, the mayor Giuseppe Falcomatà, the councilor for the budget Domenico Battaglia and the manager of the finance and economic sector, Franco Consiglio, were present at the session.
The discussion opened with the intervention of the mayor Falcomatà, who first thanked the councilor, the manager and the whole finance sector for the commitment made, underlining how this work has allowed to achieve the important results of today. The first citizen wanted to attribute a clear political meaning to the approved document: “We have reported the liabilities to the situation prior to the sentence of the Constitutional Court of 2019. In recent years we have worked to bring back the clock hands compared to a sentence that risked conducting the municipality to instability. The work of the offices, the positive interlocutions with governments, which then supported local authorities, contrary to what happens today, and the pact signed
Falcomatà also highlighted an improvement in the average payment times: «They reduced a few days. Obviously you can do more, but every day less it represents a concrete sign of the work in progress, of the operation of a municipality that is not stopped and continues to take positive forwards ».
The mayor then dealt with the issue of funds for credits of dubious value. “The current bond of 90% is not decided by the Municipality – he specified – we cannot independently lower the percentage to 80%, because it is the state that imposes it. As Anci we led the theme to the attention of the government: cities like ours, Palermo or Naples see important resources bound, which instead should be used. All governments have always replied that it is a European bond. Now we ask that this government takes note of the situation and intervene, also at European level, so that fundamental resources can be free for municipalities, which have been undergoing cuts and narrowness for years “.
Finally, Falcomatà highlighted a fundamental point: «We did not enter a structural deficit situation, and it was not at all obvious. We had to face and pay new disputes without ever spoving the legal parameters. This allowed the Municipality to maintain full operation, including the possibility of keeping some managers in service. It is the photograph of a solid, healthy body, capable of managing critical issues without compromising the financial balance “.
At the opening of the session, the Councilor for the Budget Domenico Battaglia illustrated the report: «It is a photograph of the activity carried out in 2024 by the various sectors of the Administration, both as regards the expenditure and revenue. Significant paths emerge from the report, such as respect for the commitments made in the pact with the Council of Ministers and improvements in collection. These are not just numbers: accounting consistency also reflects a development path in line with the programmatic lines defined by the mayor ». Following, the manager of the Finance sector, Franco Consiglio, revealed the most relevant data: «The deficit decreased by 19 million euros, as required by the programmatic plan. A result that reassures us, since it represents one of the objectives of the agreement with the Council of Ministers. The body does not present a condition of structural deficit “.