The PSD/Portimão was very divided yesterday at the extraordinary session of the Municipal Assembly regarding the approval of the Chamber's candidacy for the Local Economy Support Program (PAEL), in the amount of 100 million euros, which will allow the payment of the municipality's short-term debt, namely to suppliers.
Of the five members of the PSD bench in AM Portimonense, only two were present at the extraordinary session - Helder Renato and José Casimiro -, and one of them replacing a deputy (Isabel Aleixo).
The others – Ivo Campos, Luís Miguel Martins and Carlos Bicheiro – were conspicuous by their absence. This did not prevent the approval of the four points on the agenda, as the PS has a majority in AM de Portimão.
According to Luís Martins' complaint, read in the period before the agenda by the president of the Municipal Assembly (Francisco Florêncio, PS), at issue was the scheduling of the extraordinary session, which did not respect the legal deadline of five working days in advance.
But, as Francisco Florêncio explained, “the Chambers in general are faced with this issue of urgency”.
This would be recognized by municipal deputy Helder Renato (PSD) who, in his initial intervention, recalled that «in Vila Real de Santo António, Faro and Albufeira”, all municipalities with a PSD majority, “the procedure was identical”. After saying that the Social Democrats "want to be part of the solution and not the problem", Helder Renato added: "We are all here today to discuss the problems of the council".
The only two PSD members present at the extraordinary session, which ended at around 1:00 am, would have voted in favor of one of the items on the agenda – the declaration of financial imbalance in the Portimão Chamber – and abstained on the remaining three.
Restructure 140 million in debt and find financing to pay it off
And what was at stake in this extraordinary session of the Municipal Assembly? The approval of the instruments that allow the Portimão Chamber to reformulate its short-term debt, and thus finally find money to pay its creditors, mostly companies from Portimão and Algarve.
«This is a Global Plan for the Financial Adjustment of the Municipality of Portimão, using two sources of financing, through adherence to the PAEL and the use of a Financial Rebalancing Plan (long-term loan from the Bank) that will make it possible to pay the entire short-term debt», the Chamber had already explained.
João Vieira, leader of the PS bench, pointed out that of the 140 million euros foreseen, «108 million will go to companies headquartered in the Algarve and more than 50% of them headquartered in Portimão».
“What is at stake here is the future of this municipality. This is an injection of many millions of euros into the local economy», guaranteed, for his part, the vice-president of the Chamber.
For this reason, Luís Carito underlined that «this opportunity, which is unique, cannot be passed up», due to the interest rate guaranteed by the PAEL, of 3,2%, much more advantageous than that practiced in banks.
Even João Vasconcelos, from the Left Block, would agree with the socialists on the issue of deadlines for convening the Municipal Assembly, in a rare convergence with the PS positions. “I don't like having access to documents at the last minute either”, but a similar situation “is happening from North to South of the country, yesterday, today and tomorrow, in many Municipal Assembly”.
The CDS, through the voice of its only municipal deputy, José Pedro Caçorino, would align, in part, with the positions of the absent social democrats, stressing the “illegal, disrespectful and messed-up way in which this meeting was called”. But, unlike the three PSD deputies who were absent, he was present and voted on the four agenda items.
How did the vote go
And what was voted on then? Paragraph a referred to the «Declaration of Structural Financial Imbalance» by the Portimão Chamber, which was approved with 18 votes, by the PS, Parish Council presidents (all PS), PSD and CDS. CDU voted against, BE abstained.
The second point was the contracting of the loan under the PAEL, also approved, this time with 15 votes in favor (PS+presidents), four against (CDS+CDU+BE), and two abstentions (PSD).
Point c had to do with the Financial Rebalancing contract to be signed with the bank and again received the favorable votes of the PS (15), four against (CDS+CDU+BE), and two abstentions (PSD). This was exactly the same vote reached by point d, which provided for the discussion and approval of the municipality's Late Payment Settlement Plan.
With the application to the PAEL program, in the amount of 100 million euros, a loan amortized over 20 years, it will be possible to settle this amount of late payments to suppliers.
On the other hand, through the signing of a financial rebalancing contract (which has yet to be signed with financial institutions, but which is already pre-contracted), the Chamber intends to pay the remaining debt up to a maximum amount of 39,442 million euros.
With these two instruments, all overdue payments of the Municipality of Portimão will be settled, guaranteed Manuel da Luz at last night's meeting of the Municipal Assembly. And that is why he appealed "to the urgent need for approval", since, he underlined, "there will be no other opportunity".
But these instruments will oblige the Chamber to take some measures that will have effects on the lives of citizens: on the revenue side, the maximum rate of IMI and surcharge will be applied (Luís Carito would explain that, according to the new surcharge rules, this municipal tax will now apply to companies “that have never paid a cent here”, such as supermarkets, and will only have a “marginal effect” on local companies), a delegated management contract will be established with EMARP, promoting the sale of the assets municipal tax for a Real Estate Fund, or a municipal Civil Protection tax (to finance firefighters), among others.
On the expenditure side, Manuel da Luz recalled, there will be an average annual reduction of 216 thousand euros in personnel costs, and two million euros in goods and services, while municipal and inter-municipal companies will suffer a 50% cut in transfers, among others measures.
With the approval of all the items on the agenda, the Portimão City Council will today send, on the last day of the deadline, like hundreds of other municipalities of all political colors throughout the country, its candidacy to PAEL for the General Directorate of Administration Local. And then you'll cross your fingers, waiting for approval, which will have to take place within a maximum period of about a month and a half.
It remains to be seen what consequences, at the internal level of the Social Democrats, will have the divergent position of the two PSD municipal deputies present in this AM.
Comments