Budget on the agenda of SO Ulcinj, relations in the coalition strained

The session of the Ulcinj parliament, where councilors will discuss the proposed decision on the budget for the next year, will be held tomorrow. The President of the Municipal Assembly, Ilir Čapuni, decided to convene the session despite the fact that, as he stated, the proposal was 22 days late and that the councilors will not have time to familiarize themselves with the most important document in a quality manner.

After the collegium session, he addressed a press release in which he stated that the presidents of the clubs had different views regarding the relationship between councilors and the institution of the Assembly, the legality and consequences of the decisions adopted in the parliament.

"All three key documents for the finances of the Municipality, which were sent to the Assembly this year, were beyond all legal deadlines. Thus, the proposal for a decision on the budget for 2021 was submitted to the Assembly on December 23, i.e. 22 days after the legal deadline. Given that the Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare gave a positive opinion despite the fact that it was submitted to that institution outside the legal deadlines, I consider it appropriate to convene the second session of the Second Regular Session of the Ulcinj Municipal Council for December 30, starting at 12 noon, at which on the agenda, find in the proposal for a decision on the Budget for 2021", stated Čapuni. He believes that due to too short deadlines, councilors and citizens do not have the opportunity to submit amendments or ask councilor questions.

The government in Ulcinj is held by a coalition of DPS, Force, the Democratic Party, the Democratic Union of Albanians, the Social Democrats and the Bosniak Party with 30 out of a total of 33 councilors. Only URA and SDP are in opposition.

"Therefore, the councilor as a representative of the citizens will not be able to perform his assigned role. However, the position of the majority of representatives of councilors' clubs in the Ulcinj Municipality Assembly was that the session should be held regardless of the mentioned circumstances. As the president of the representative body of the Municipality of Ulcinj, from the first day I tried to defend and preserve the dignity and rights of councilors, in accordance with the law, the Statute and the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly. However, the relations in the Municipality undermine these principles, so respecting the differences in opinions and the need for transparency and accountability to the citizens and the city, and knowing the role of the parliament, I decided to call a session for the mentioned day", announced Čapuni.