Deep sigh of relief in the town hall in Santo Stefano: the Court of Auditors has approved the financial rebalancing plan presented by the Municipality.
«It is with great satisfaction that the municipal administration», says councilor Elisa Bergagnin, «welcomes the approval, by the Court of Auditors of the Veneto, of the multi-year plan for financial rebalancing, at the end of a year of intense work aimed at to avert the bankruptcy of the institution”.
The process began about a year ago with the recognition of the passive mass, of the potential debts – around 2 million euros – and with the re-assessment of the residuals; operation continued with the approval by the municipal council of the plan proposal, which took place in April 2022.
The large debt mass and the deficit were covered – this was the forecast – in twenty years, with a sort of “shock therapy” planned for 2022.
«The steps taken in June 2022 were significant with the approval of the forecast budget, the tariffs for services and the rates, but above all with the recognition of off-balance sheet debts of over 700 thousand euros», underlines Bergagnin, «the recognized debts they were then promptly paid, thus alleviating the situation of Comelico entities which had been waiting for such payments for some time».
Mayor Oscar Meneghetti confirms, for his part, that in a constant relationship with the Ministry of the Interior and the Court of Auditors, the Municipality has clarified all the questions gradually posed by the supervisory bodies, integrating what has already been done with the new tariff provisions solicited.
“The recovery process undertaken with seriousness, professionalism and rigor has thus convinced the superordinate bodies of the financial reliability of the body and of the stated intentions, sanctioning the definitive approval communicated to the Municipality on 28 November”, says the mayor, “now the first important step is taken, bringing the Municipality back on the right track; the road to follow was thus outlined and endorsed with the aforementioned approval”.
The recovery process is now continuing according to the commitments highlighted by the Administration and will be subject to six-monthly monitoring by the Court of Auditors to verify compliance with the planned measures and the stages of recovery from the deficit.
With the approval of the Court of Auditors, the political environment also calms down. Mayor Meneghetti has definitively left behind the desire to take a step forward; in October he announced his possible resignation. The opposition, for its part, will continue to act as sentinel, as in recent months, on the one hand critical, on the other open to possible collaborations if requested.