The Ambi municipal companyfaro may have to close doors if the management of parking meters in the city of Faro not pass to its purview. The Municipal Assembly rejected this possibility, but Rogério Bacalhau hopes that the “common sense” of the opposition will prevail, since it is the company's survival that is at risk.
The mayor explains that the Chamber took «the decision not to tender the concession to the private sector, because we do not need to give private profit margins, when we are able to manage. Furthermore, if we are the ones who take over the work, we can manage it flexibly. If we make a 30-year concession, we cannot change the number of parked places, for example. If it's us, we can, at any time, improve the situation».
However, also Ambifaro and its survival led the Chamber of Faro to make the decision. «The Ambifaro it had a debt, which has already reached 11 million euros, which has to do with the debt of the construction of the market. These are not recipes from the Market of Faro that generate revenue to pay for it. Therefore, since the existence of the market, the company has had negative results».
These results “have served to pay interest on the loan, because it is the Municipality that is injecting money. However, if there are negative results, we are prohibited from putting money into the company. The shareholder is obliged, if the company is not sustainable, to cover the losses and that is what the Municipality has been doing».
Rogério Bacalhau recalls that “when we went to the rebalancing plan and asked for the PAEL loan, we had to ask for a loan from the bank to pay almost 3 million euros to cover losses in the market and another to pay the share capital of Sociedade Polis, which it wasn't paid'.
Last year, “in a controlled way, we had a bigger loss and that served to pay a 1,1 million loan and to settle interest with other banks. As a result, we renegotiated the debt, which was overdrawn and, in some cases, we paid interest in excess of 20%. Now, we have this settled with a medium-long term loan», adds the mayor.
2018 was also the year in which, for the first time, «since the beginning of the market, the company had positive results. This was only possible because, last year, a great effort was made to inject money there. At this moment, Ambifaro the situation is fully regularized, but if we do not do anything, next year it will have negative results and will be in deficit again. Although Ambifaro is operating normally, it does not generate income to repay the loans. It generates revenue only to pay for the daily operation».
It was this fact that, according to Rogério Bacalhau, «led us to wanting to put the parking meters there, which generate 1 million euros per year in revenue. According to the calculations we made, we need around 300 euros to pay for the “parking meter operation”, including maintenance and personnel. Therefore, we are left with 700 thousand euros of net income available and this is the amount we need to settle the debt with the two banks. The debt burden is 660 euros per year, which means that there will still be a differential that will serve to reduce debt».
The mayor adds that “it is written in the proposal that 30%, at most, will be to pay parking meters, and 70%, at least, to pay debt. The Board of Directors, by deliberation of the City Council and the Municipal Assembly, cannot spend a penny other than on parking meters or to pay off debt. And this was negotiated with councilors. It was the Chamber meeting and it was unanimously approved».
However, laments the mayor, “when we arrived at the Municipal Assembly, it decided to reject the process. I do not know why. I need to know what they want to change and we'll have to talk. They want to let the company die, but that's not the point. The company is ours and the market management will always have to work. If we cannot do this, we will have to dissolve the company».
The PS, in an explanation of vote, at the Municipal Assembly, justified the lead in the transfer of the charged parking to the management of Ambifaro, with the fact that the executive has never provided the clarifications requested by a commission created within the AM of Faro, to accompany the audit to Ambifaro.
The socialists, in the declaration of vote, consider it essential to “find out the reasons for the accumulated losses and deficit, given the financial feasibility study initially presented, to support the merger with the municipal market company”.
Rogério Bacalhau explains that “the PS decided it wanted to set up a commission and they sent a request for elements and an audit. It was the end of the year. It was not possible to contract in 2018 to move to 2019. At this point, we have already talked to two or three auditors and a procedure and a tender for this are being carried out, but that is no reason for anything», he accuses.
The audit process, says the mayor, “may take more or less time and everyone will say what they want. I'm not worried about that. The problem is that we have a company that, this month, has 250 euros to pay financial charges. We have the money there, but in 3 months we won't have the money to pay. Therefore, we are going to default».
The mayor of Faro he says he does not understand the position of the socialists, given that “this was negotiated. I don't understand how I get to the Municipal Assembly and they come with excuses, delaying such a process. They approved the amendment to the statutes and, at this time, the company can operate parking meters. However, they did not approve the definition of what they are going to do. I don't want to qualify this».
Rogério Bacalhau guarantees that «if I have to close the company, I will. It harms both the workers and the functioning. Also, if you don't have parking meters at Ambifaro, I am able, in the Chamber, in the Mobility Division, to start managing them. But, with all the procedures that we have to do, it was only at the end of the year that we managed to have them up and running. We lost a year of parking meters, road organization and parking in the county, for… nothing».
To avoid company closure, “there is only one way. I will again take the proposal to the Chamber meeting to approve. That's what I'm thinking of doing. If this is not the solution, find me another one. I have to have a legal solution to make sure I pay that interest. Let's talk to the PS and let's see what they say, but I'm convinced that common sense will prevail», he concludes.
Comments