The budgetary challenge of Italian cities facing the coronavirus

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By: Pauline Gleize Follow

Sunday will be the second round of municipal elections in French cities for which no mayor was elected in mid-March, just before the start of confinement. A long period between two rounds for mayors and candidates. Confinement has raised many concerns in Italy as well. Dozens of city councilors gradually sounded the alarm over a risk of bankruptcy. Report in Italy.

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Némi, a charming village overlooking a lake.Despite the June sun, the alleys and the bar of Vincenzo Capelli,are not taken by storm . “ Little by little, we restart… but, there are no tourists, a little local tourism, but no foreigners. Our activity is reduced by 40-50% compared to before.  "

Less revenue including for the city coffers underlines Alberto Bertucci, the mayor of Nemi. “  We immediately suspended, for example, the charge for occupying the public domain because the companies closed. Many families have not paid taxes on time . "

However, the city councilor is not afraid of bankruptcy. " We have managed well for years, it would not be fair that we should reduce services "
" In recent years we have carefully managed our budget. We think we can do it even in this emergency. However, we do not want to lower our standard of service to citizens to balance the budget. "

A thorn in the side of the communes which, this year, should not see any more big cuts in the endowments of the State.

Small tourist towns are not the only ones to have alerted the government. The big cities like Milan, Rome, Venice also launched an appeal. In total, between 6 and 8 billion euros in revenue have soared, according to Anci, the National Association of Italian Municipalities.

But, Antonio Decaro,mayor of Bari and president of Anci, sees the horizon clearing up. “  We received 3 billion euros from the state directly… and about one billion euros in compensation for the shortfall in certain revenues. And the problem is being solved. They allow us to vote the budget in September instead of July and meanwhile, they seek the resources for the last three billion euros and allow us to close the budget without interrupting essential services . "

Because in Italy, Italian municipalities cannot go into debt for current expenses.On the other hand, they can for investments. "  Investments are increasing, but it is a different type of expenditure. On the contrary, the government is asking us to encourage them because it allows uniform liquidity to be injected into the country.  "

Beyond the funds, more powers have been given to mayors with regard to work on school buildings.But, they would like more. “  Often we have resources, but we find it hard to spend them. There are so many procedures ! We need to reduce delays, if only temporarily. Only then will the country experience a faster recovery.  "

The government is precisely working on a so-called "simplification" decree.

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