Rybnicek: Towns and Villages Will Have to Consider Increasing Taxes and Fees
Bratislava, May 25 (TASR) – Due to the Parliament-approved anti-inflation aid sponsored by the Finance Ministry, towns and municipalities will have to consider increasing property taxes, school and nursery fees or making decisions that will be unpopular among their inhabitants, TASR learnt from Slovak Towns Union (UMS) head and Trencin mayor Richard Rybnicek on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, we’ll probably have no other choice, as we also have huge expenditures in connection with rising prices of energy, building materials and everything,” he pointed out, adding that local government expenditures are still bigger than their revenues. Rybnicek maintains that they’ll have to make cuts and look for solutions that will mean a reduction in the quality of services for residents of towns and villages.
UMS declared that it’s in the same boat as the Slovak Towns and Villages Association (ZMOS). “I assume that we’ll act together and look for common solutions so that we can clearly address this whole situation,” he said. He also confirmed that UMS has requested a meeting with President Zuzana Caputova. It wants to discuss the situation with her and explain its fears regarding what awaits towns and villages in Slovakia.
The Slovak Towns and Villages Association (ZMOS) went on strike alert as of May 19 and is threatening a strike. The reason behind the move is recent Finance Ministry-sponsored bills as well as the state’s long-term approach towards municipalities. ZMOS also wants to meet the head of state.