Sector 1 of Bucharest remains without a budget for 2022

The budget of Sector 1's City Hall for this year was not adopted on Friday, February 18, by the Local Council, due to lack of quorum, after the National Liberal Party (PNL) and Social Democratic Party (PSD) councilors left the meeting, dissatisfied with the mayor's absence from debates and the fact that investment projects are not prioritized.

Agerpres reported that, in the opinion of the PSD local councilor Cristian Tudose, mayor Clotilde Armand "defies" the local council and its members through her absence from discussions. "The mayor continues to defy the local council and the citizens of Sector 1 by being absent, even if now the main subject is the budget", Tudose said.

Mayor Clotilde Armand, who left the meeting before the draft budget was debated, declared after the suspension of the projects that the situation of this administrative area is "critical", given that the PNL and PSD councilors "blocked" for the fourth time , the adoption of the local budget for this year, and since February 11, the payments from the state budget were stopped.

She explained in a post on Facebook that the 45-day deadline for the publication of the state budget law in the Official Gazette has been exceeded and the local authority operates only from the money it collects from local taxes.

According to Armand, for "political reasons", the PSD - PNL coalition in Sector 1 is showing "outrageous cynicism" towards the local community.

"Those who will suffer through the actions of PSD - PNL from Sector 1 are social cases and children. Several social benefits are stopped, such as allowances for people with disabilities, equivalent to the net minimum wage, or the payment of their companions. The amounts received from the state budget for education expenses, running money for kindergartens, schools and high schools and funds for school scholarships are also suspended. These are just a few examples", said the mayor of Sector 1.

Clotilde Armand added that the draft local budget had been prepared since the beginning of the year, was put up for public debate on January 14 and that she invited all representatives of political parties to formulate any proposals and amendments.

"Record investments are being prepared in the local community, over 430 million lei, in schools, green energy, parks, digitalization, infrastructure, etc. All these plans are put on hold until the project is voted. (...) PNL and PSD councilors left the meeting room. This is their respect for the community", said the mayor of Sector 1.

Translated by: Radu Matei