The report-balance sheet for the financial year 2023 of the municipality of Athens was approved by a majority by the Municipal Council, after the two major factions voted for it. “Popular Rally”, “Free Athenians” and “Subversive Alliance” voted against, while “Open City” and “Our Athens” abstained.

However, during his speech, Mayor Haris Doukas called 2023 “a financial year to avoid”. And he continued: “I say this for the following reasons: The municipality’s companies recorded significant losses, there is poor financial management of organizations, which caused cash deficits and overall poor planning and operation of projects, which deprived the municipality of significant revenue or created unnecessary expenses.”

Immediately afterwards he reported deficits and damages: “I’m only saying briefly, 1,700,000 euros is the deficit of the School Committees, 3,600,000 euros is the loss recorded by the Development Organization of Local Self-Government, 500,000 euros of damage and a cash deficit of 1,373,631 euros was recorded by Technopoli SA, 33 million euros is the cash available of the total municipal budget, while only the short-term charges reached 35 million euros”.

And he added among other things: “These are burdens, which we have inherited and they are not accounting numbers, but they concern the daily life, the functioning of the city, the organizations, the lives of the citizens and these numbers translate into difficulties in order to have all that we ask for , i.e. better schools, necessary projects in critical sectors, creation of free public spaces, operation of new social structures.

But I’m not a fan of the “we received scorched earth” model. That is why we have already managed to put the Local Government Development Organization on an efficient track, Technopolis has already proceeded to rationalize its operation, despite all the difficulties we have managed to intervene and improve dozens of schools, we have used donations to revive playgrounds, we have secured European funds and the first tenders are already being completed.

But I want you to know that the situation of municipalities throughout the country is difficult. We live it every day at KEDE. One municipality after another fails to close budgets. And unfortunately, the government’s big-mouthed promises for emergency financing of municipalities in 2024, ran out of 100 million euros, while KEDE was asking for 450 million. Next year looks to be even worse. In the 2025 state budget, the revenues of all the country’s municipalities are increased, by just 53 million euros.”

He concluded by saying: “We all understand that another difficult year is coming. We are committed to using the last euro of the taxpayer and the Athenian citizen, wisely, transparently and as productively as possible”.

For his part, former mayor Kostas Bakoyiannis spoke of “absolute recognition” of the financial management of the years 2019-2023. “A four-year period, which has left behind a strong, well-housed municipality, with increased revenues, with a surplus, with a reserve, with an unprecedented mammoth technical program, but also with a great investment program,” he said, among other things, and added: ” We delivered a municipality with the foot on the gas. The current municipal authority, a year ago, pulled the handbrake. The course must be changed and the municipality must return to a development trajectory.”

Kostas Zachariadis said that “the problem of the administrative structure of the country is highlighted in the most obvious way, that is, the resources that the Self-Government has, the staff it has and its responsibilities”. And he added that his faction will maintain the same stance as last year.

Haris Vourdoubas said that the People’s Rally “will vote against the report as anti-people and because it has a memorandum logic”, while he added that “the current municipal authority continues on the same course as the previous one”. Charalambos Giotis emphasized that “the numbers are not consistent with the result, whether in projects or services, that end up with the citizen”, Kostas Papadakis said that “the report is a product of anti-social policy and not for benefits to the citizens” and Eleni Papadopoulou he pointed out “the problem of the municipality in collecting large fines and the appearance of statutes of limitations, as a result of which the municipality loses millions” and added that “money is spent, which the citizen does not see in projects”.

Finally, the deputy mayor for economic planning and rapporteur Giorgos Giannaros, after analyzing the report, emphasized that “2024 has nothing to do with 2023”.