The Europe Now Movement (PES) will launch an initiative to remove the mayor of Bijelo Polje, Petar Smolović.
This was stated by PES councilor Dražen Petrić at today's session of the Bijelo Polje Municipal Assembly (MA).
"The reason for the initiative is that Mayor Petar Smolović, who has held that position since 2017, did not have a vision for the economic environment and that the Municipality has regressed in terms of the local self-government development index," said Petrić.
The draft decision on the budget rebalance for this year in the amount of 28.811.000 euros was adopted with 19 votes "in favor".
After the debate and before Smolović's presentation, opposition councilors left the session, claiming that they would not vote for a budget that, in their opinion, was not development-oriented.
The session was adjourned after the vote, and a resumption date will be scheduled at a later date.
Petrić: We have no budget due to amendments to the Personal Income Tax Law
"Bijelo Polje does not have a record budget due to alleged mismanagement of finances, as DPS continuously points out, but solely due to amendments to the Personal Income Tax Law, which ceded a larger portion of revenue to northern municipalities," said PES councilor Dražen Petrić.
"However, it is pleasing that we have more money as a municipality, but experience from previous years tells us that the capital budget is usually implemented in a significantly lower percentage than planned. It is particularly worrying that the selection of priorities for the construction and paving of roads is done in a non-transparent manner and according to party lines. We also constantly point out that expenditures for gross salaries are increasing, and allegedly there are no new jobs, which indicates that there are officially none, but that a large number of people are hired under a service contract," Petrić emphasized, adding that the question arises whether this is due to the needs of the institutions or due to party appetites.
He also addressed the criticism that the DPS is constantly criticized by the opposition and PES for having been in power for "half a decade", even though the government was elected two years ago and they could have done much more during that time.
"That's why we need to ask ourselves what specifically Petar Smolović has done in the full seven years since he took over the most responsible position of governing Bijelo Polje," said Petrić, explaining that these are all reasons why PES will propose his dismissal to its coalition partners, because they do not see that he has done anything worth mentioning.
Bajčeta: We received a spending plan that testifies to irresponsible planning and politicization of public finances
Radosav Bajčeta, a councilor of Democratic Montenegro, said during the discussion that "The draft decision on amendments to the Decision on the Budget of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje for 2025 is a document that, unfortunately, says more about how we spend than how we plan to develop."
"Instead of a document that would present a plan for stability and cost rationalization, we received a spending plan that testifies to irresponsible planning and politicization of public finances. When we look at the structure of this rebalance, we can see that current expenditures and transfers to institutions have increased, while capital expenditures are only growing formally, without any real new projects. In other words, this rebalance is not a growth plan, but a survival and spending plan. The largest increase relates to current budget spending, now planned at 15.01 million euros, and this is not due to investments in public services, but primarily due to an increase in expenditures for gross wages and employer contributions - as much as 7.01 percent," Bajčeta pointed out.
He added that "while citizens feel the consequences of non-existent investments due to poor local government management and modest employment opportunities every day, we are increasing the number of civil servants and expenditures for their salaries."
"It is dangerously worrying that huge funds, over four million euros, are still being allocated for obligations from previous years. This clearly shows that the Municipality is not managing to live off its current income. Capital expenditures, which should be the driver of progress, are planned at 9,59 million euros, but when we look at the content, we see that it is mainly about adaptations and repairs. This rebalance does not create new values. It only maintains the status quo. And the status quo in Bijelo Polje means the departure of young people, a decline in economic activity and an increase in dependence on state aid," said Bajčeta.
Đukić proposed a new budget item "Eats and entertainment for municipal officials" and the opening of a special cafe
Criticizing the Municipality of Bijelo Polje, which, according to data with a budget of only 25,5 million euros, spent as much as 14.535 euros on representation, Democratic Montenegro councilor Marko Đukić said during the debate on the budget rebalance that he was proposing the introduction of a new item in the budget called "Appetizers and representation of municipal officials", for which he also proposed opening a special café.
"Because, if we are already spending 14.535 euros on drinks, appetizers and bar bills in just six months, it would be high time to at least transparently acknowledge that and include it in the budget, right? Let me remind you – the capital city of Podgorica, with a budget of 153 million euros, spent only 3.473 euros on the national team. And we, with a budget of 25,5 million, spend four times more – and a 25 times higher percentage of the budget. So, if we are not the largest in terms of investments, it seems that we are the champions in terms of appetizers. Therefore, respected colleagues, if we cannot open a new factory, if we cannot provide citizens with asphalt to their homes in the 21st century, if we cannot complete a single local project, then at least we can be the first in Montenegro in terms of national team spending at the expense of citizens," said Đukić, among other things.
Zvrko: Municipality has no new loans
Councilor of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Elvir Zvrko pointed out that the Municipality has no new loans nor has it taken on debt to increase the budget.
Obradović: Local government should be a service to all citizens
Vaso Obradović, a councilor for New Serbian Democracy, said that local government should be a service to all citizens, that no one is against investments, but they are against the way money is spent.
Striković: The budget before Smolović took office was half as small
Social Democratic Party councilor Adnan Striković believes that the municipality's budget before President Smolović took office was half as small as it is today, and that these figures should be used to assess how the president leads the municipality, and not whether, according to some NGO, the transparency of the municipality's work comes first or second.
Smolović: The municipality has not borrowed a single euro
In his final presentation, Smolović emphasized the hospitable attitude of the local administration, which achieved savings at all levels, emphasizing that the Municipality did not borrow a single euro, and that they had repaid millions of debts and reduced costs by up to 70 percent.
"The government and the state have not given us anything, but have returned the taxes paid by citizens and companies from Bijelo Polje through transfers and mechanisms. Those who have borrowed billions are 'scolding' us about borrowing. We are the only municipality that has every document on its website, everything we have saved and generated additional income, that is, what citizens have generated, and that is why we have an increase in the budget," emphasized Mayor Smolović.
The session started an hour late.
The session began at 16 p.m., and was scheduled to begin at 15 p.m.
"The beginning of the XXXIII session of the Assembly, which was scheduled for 15 p.m. today, has been postponed to 15 p.m.," the Bijelo Polje Municipal Assembly office announced today at 16:16 p.m. without providing any information about the reason for the postponement.
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