They're blocking the building they want to buy.

The Local Public Revenue Administration of the Municipality of Budva, acting ex officio, initiated the procedure for the forced collection of real estate tax in the amount of 85.800 euros from the company "Old Town Invest Group".

This is stated in the decision that "Vijesti" had access to, and which is signed by the director of the local public revenue administration. Vesna Kovačević.

This concerns the real estate tax for last year on part of the Jadranska straža facility in the Old Town of Budva, as well as the garage and business space in the "Harmonija" complex on Cape Zavala, which are owned by that company.

"The taxpayer is ordered to pay the obligations within ten days from the date of delivery of this decision. If the taxpayer does not pay within the given deadline, forced collection measures will be taken," the decision states.

As stated, collection will be carried out by freezing the company's account, but also by establishing a lien on the taxpayer's property, or a mortgage on real estate.

"The decision on forced collection will be implemented by the Central Bank of Montenegro, by transferring funds from the taxpayer's account to the account of the Municipality of Budva," the decision states.

On December 31, the Budva Municipal Assembly authorized the mayor Nikola Jovanovic to purchase the Adriatic Guard from its current owners for 3,5 million euros on behalf of the city.

"The Jadranska straža building is being purchased by direct negotiation based on the right of pre-emption prescribed by the Law on the Protection of Cultural Property. The purchase price of the property is 3.500.000 euros (2.000.000 euros in favor of Buric Milosa and 1.400.000 euros to the legal entity 'Old Town Group' doo from Budva), according to the Report on the assessment of the value of real estate, which was prepared on September 23, 2024 by the authorized appraiser Prof. Dr. Slavko Rakočević", states the decision adopted by the majority of the Budva parliament.

Three months after the decision was adopted, the Municipality has not responded to "Vijesti" as to whether they have begun negotiations with the owners about the purchase.

A cultural and historical monument from the 9th century, a former Benedictine monastery, Jadranska straža was sold two and a half decades ago by the local government, through a strange set of circumstances, to a private individual, who converted it into a hotel and restaurant.

The Adriatic Watch on the eastern side represents the old town walls towards the beach Brijeg od Budva, better known as Richard's Head. It was built twelve centuries ago as a Benedictine monastery, along with the old town's Santa Marija in Punta.

In the 19th century, during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the facility was used for military and naval purposes, and also during the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, when Adriatic guards were organized along the coast.

In the 1950s, after World War II, the Municipality of Budva organized a playground there. Before the earthquake of 1979 and the Urban Plan of the Old Town from 1985, the building, which remained popularly known as the Adriatic Guard, was intended for culture, the City Music and Folklore Society "Kanjoš". Special statics were even made for the building due to the dynamic forces caused by the folklore dancers during their jumps.

However, suddenly, in 1998, the then mayor of the municipality Rade Gregovic, without the knowledge of the Assembly, the building that was planned to be used for culture is being sold to the company "Unipres Zrenjanin", which is owned by a Novi Sad businessman Ratko Buturović, better known as One pair of shoes, for what was then 480.000 German marks.

Buturović, after he was not allowed to realize his ideas, the upgrade of the Adriatic Guard and the construction of a marina in front of the ramparts, the object was sold To Blagoti Baja Sekulić from Podgorica who is starting the adaptation of the Adriatic Guard and the reconstruction of the basement on his own.

The crypts in the basement were dug up, and witnesses say that the bones from them were thrown everywhere, and eventually a bar and warehouse for the bar were built on the site of the graves.

On the last day of May 2002, Sekulić, and his family shortly thereafter, sold the Adriatic Watch for 1,2 million euros to Russian citizens, who carried out extensive work, increasing the building's square footage by one floor, all without paying utilities and without a building permit.

Discord between the new owners leads to a triple murder in 2007 in the garden of Jadranska Straža, followed by a new sale.

The new city government also plans to return this property to the ownership of the Municipality.

They also put a mortgage on Kamenovo

The Local Public Revenue Administration of the Municipality of Budva ex officio issued a decision to secure a tax claim, placing a mortgage on the property of the tax debtor, the company "Rekreaturs" from Budva.

As stated in the decision of the municipal administration, "Rekreaturs" did not pay the first installment of taxes for last year, which together with interest amounts to 74.413 euros.

In the real estate list, which "Vijesti" had access to, a mortgage was registered in the cadastral records on April 2nd on a large land complex of three hectares of land in the hinterland of Kamenovo beach, which is owned by a failed company.

This continues the series of mortgages that the Municipality of Budva, or rather its Local Public Revenue Administration, has been registering in recent years to ensure that it will collect its tax receivables.

At the end of March last year, the municipality registered a mortgage for a tax claim of 146 thousand euros, for the entire tax debt for 2024.