The Mali Lošinj City Council did not accept the proposed rebalance of the city budget at a session held on Monday, 19 October. The rejection of the rebalance has caused new political tensions between Mayor Ana Kučić (HDZ) and the council majority.
The proposed rebalance provided for funds to continue important city projects, including infrastructure investments and housing construction. Ana Kučić warned that rejecting the rebalance could have serious consequences for citizens, from the delay of capital projects to problems with opening new nursery groups. She also stated that citizens should not pay the price for political settlement.
By not accepting the proposed budget rebalance, the planned financing of important city projects has been halted. Councillors who voted against did not offer alternative solutions nor submit amendments proposing a different allocation of budget funds. The city of Mali Lošinj has already assumed contractual obligations that it must settle. Since the rebalance was not accepted, a larger portion of own revenues will have to be allocated to these assumed obligations, which directly affects the ability to finance other needs.
The specific consequences are the delay of the Vela riva development, housing construction in Ćunsko and Veli Lošinj, the development of the Maritime Collection and the new city council chamber in the space of the Maritime School, as well as a number of other smaller capital investments. One of the significant consequences of not accepting the rebalance is the delay in enrolling children in the new Mrav nursery, as without the planned funds it is not possible to employ the additional staff needed for the operation of new nursery groups. This also delays the planned increase in nursery capacity.
The mayor emphasised that free nursery, supplementary health insurance for pensioners, additional investments in healthcare accessibility and incentives for landlords are not populist measures, as some councillors call them. The city of Mali Lošinj is currently going through the largest investment cycle in its history. Four major capital projects are being implemented with European co-financing, along with numerous other investments for which own funds must be secured.
The majority in the Mali Lošinj City Council, as opposed to the current minority from whose ranks Mayor Ana Kučić (HDZ) comes, did not support the proposal for a budget rebalance of the City, which reduces it, at the regular session. The rebalance also provided for two new borrowings by the City – for the project of reconstructing the section of Riva lošinjskih kapetana parallel to Vela riva and for a residential building in Ćunsko.
The majority was in favour of giving the City's consent to the company "Matalda golf" of board member Nikola Perenčević for the construction of the main, i.e. service road towards the Matalda area on Punta Križa in the south of the island of Cres, where "Jadranka" has been announcing the construction of a golf course and accommodation facilities for years. Amendments and supplements to the budget, presented by the new head of department Damir Mlacović, were supported by five councillors of the HDZ-HSS coalition. Non-partisan councillor Jerko Kušeta abstained. Councillors of SDP and AM and non-partisan Ivan Koharović were against.
Marin Kajkara (AM) criticised the current methods of equal co-financing of lump sums to all apartment and room landlords, payment of supplementary health insurance to all pensioners and payment of nursery services to all parents, saying that a social census would be a better way. HDZ councillor Žarko Rogić responded with the assertion that SDP would support the rebalance if it had been proposed by County Mayor Ivica Lukanović. Jerko Kušeta asked the mayor to confirm what was previously said, that water from the water supply will be used only for accommodation facilities, and not for irrigating golf courses, which she confirmed.
For the consent to "Matalda golf", the councillors of SDP, AM and non-partisan councillors Jerko Kušeta and Ivan Koharović voted in favour. Against was the President of the City Council Mario Okmažić (AM). Against the consent were the councillors of HDZ-HSS. Before this item on the agenda, HDZ councillor Dario Vodanović left the session. Roberto Cavedoni, non-partisan from the list of Marija Franković (recently the SDP's Lošinj president), did not attend this session at all.
At the current hour, new councillor Marko Hesky (SDP) asked questions obtained from citizens – complaints about the state of the park-forest on Čikat given the greater number of dry and rotten pines, as well as parking problems, illegal construction and misuse of water supply connections obtained for agriculture for other purposes, saying that these problems are pronounced in the less accessible parts of the island. Marko Hesky asked the mayor what the city services had undertaken, i.e. how many interventions there were per reports. The mayor announced that she would prepare a report on this by the next session. Jerko Kušeta asked what is intended to be done so that citizens get information faster about the unsuitability of water from the water supply for drinking, after sampling is carried out and irregularities are established, as recently happened in Osor. New internet pages with such information were announced.
