Thirty-seven million euros to support Sicilian municipalities in financial difficulty. These are the resources provided for in five decrees issued by the regional councilor for local authorities, Andrea Messina, intended for the financial rebalancing plans of local authorities. A measure which in this way implements regional law 25 of 2024. This is what we read in a note from the Sicilian Region. “These are interventions in favor of Sicilian municipalities in a state of distress, in a rebalancing or bankruptcy procedure – highlights councilor Messina – which for the first time have been adopted by the Region.
With the law approved last August we wanted to help local authorities which, due to the evident economic difficulty, risk compromising their activities and, therefore, social stability. With the contributions we aim to encourage the exit from the crisis, simultaneously guaranteeing the provision of essential services and the management of ordinary administrative activities”. In particular, the note underlines, “an initial provision of 12.5 million euros is intended to 56 Municipalities, with a population of up to 25 thousand inhabitants, in financial difficulty as of 30 September 2024 and those that closed the difficulty after 31 December 2022. Another 2.5 million euros are allocated to the Municipalities of Palermo and Messina, to ensure the sustainability of the multi-year financial rebalancing plans approved by the respective municipal councilsand to the Municipality of Catania for the completion of the five-year period of the stably rebalanced budget. An 11.5 million euro decree assigns resources to 23 Municipalities, to cover the liabilities included in the multi-year financial rebalancing plans, with a subdivision based on the number of inhabitants. Those with a population of up to 15 thousand inhabitants, who in 2021 received a state contribution from the National Fund provided for by law 106/2021, will receive 2 million euros to compensate for the failure of the State to allocate the forecasts relating to the 2024 financial year. Finally, 8.5 million euros were assigned to the Municipalities of Serradifalco (Cl), Linguaglossa and Militello in Val di Catania (Ct), Librizzi, Patti, Villafranca Tirrena (Me) and Campobello di Mazara (Tp) for the coverage of liabilities in their respective multi-year financial rebalancing plans and which had requested the use of the rotation fund”.