The Cres City Council adopted a proposal to reduce this year's city budget by approximately €1.48 million, representing a cut of 16 per cent. The proposal was presented by Karmen Surdić Benvin, head of the Department for Budget, Finance and Accounting. Eight of the 12 councillors present at the session voted in favour of the budget reduction.
Support for the budget rebalancing came from councillors who form the absolute majority in the City Council, namely representatives of the SDP and their partners, as well as Robert Kučić from the Citizens' Association. Only Đanino Sučić voted against the reduction, while Lara Bressan Matić, and Mladen Dragoslavić and Roby Orlić from the HDZ and partners list, abstained.
At the same session, a new vice-president of the City Council was elected, with Marčelo Damijanjević being appointed to the post. He comes from the governing majority and has an interesting political background – he was formerly an HDZ member, then an independent councillor, and in last year's elections he ran as a non-partisan candidate on the SDP list. The vice-president position had been vacant since last year's elections, and an additional vice-president position was introduced, which remains unfilled for now as there were no candidates.
Mayor Marin Gregorović warned of challenges in the work of the city administration, emphasising that it is difficult to keep up with all tasks and projects with the existing 20 employees. He particularly highlighted the problem of a lack of legal professionals. Mirjana Koljevina, director of the Girice Kindergarten, submitted the annual report on the institution's work, noting that the number of children is higher than in previous years, but that there is a shortage of professional staff.
HDZ councillor Mladen Dragoslavić warned about the reduction in the number of employees in the land registry office in Cres, which once had three employees but now has none. Officials from Mali Lošinj come to Cres twice a month. The mayor clarified that the work of the land registry office is under the jurisdiction of the state administration and that the City will not co-finance the salaries of state officials, even though the office has a lot of work, especially during the period of land book renewal.
Dragoslavić also asked about the influence of City Council president Marina Medarić on the formation of water prices, given that she was appointed a member of the Supervisory Board of the water company Ponikve voda, based in Krk. The mayor replied that the decision on water prices comes from the state level, namely through the Water Services Council.
The session also highlighted the issue of veterinary care in Cres. Lara Bressan Matić warned that pet owners have to travel to Krk or Rijeka for major problems. Councillor Roby Orlić asked about the implementation of this year's programme of small municipal actions, to which the mayor replied that the pedestrian path on Turion will not be developed due to the jurisdiction of the conservator.
