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ZMOS Will Accept Changes to Spending Rules Under Certain Conditions
Sunday 08 August 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, August 8 (TASR) - Local councils would accept the changes to their spending rules planned by Iveta Radicova's Government as long as they are to the public benefit and don't suppress their independence, Michal Sykora, chairman of the Slovak Towns and Villages Association (ZMOS) has told TASR in an interview.
Sykora noted that any major change in the rules to date has been mutually discussed and agreed on ahead of time.
"As for this issue, the Government has presented its plan. We can't take up a final stance on it as we lack details on everything," said Sykora. The designation 'irresponsibly financially performing town or village' alone is fairly vague and leaves room for legal, economic and accounting generalisations.
Finance Minister Ivan Miklos (SDKU-DS) heralded plans in mid-July to tighten up the budgetary rules for villages and towns as these were considered to be not tight enough and the previous government loosened them further. This could have been a trigger for poor financial performance and the racking up of debts.
ZMOS is asking the state for a subsidy of €141 million to make up the shortfalls in tax revenues and alleviate the fallout from the economic crisis. Radicova warned that the level of financial assistance will be set based on the way in which they have used their budgets, however.
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