The Chamber of Arruda dos Vinhos worsened its net result and budget execution in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to last year’s Accounts Report, to which Lusa had access today.
The Lisbon district municipality went from a positive net result of 228 thousand euros in 2022 to a negative net result of one million euros (ME).
In the document, the municipality, presided over since April by Carlos Alves (PS), justifies that, despite everything, “the net result of the year is more favorable than that of previous years, as it is only exceptionally harmed in 1 .4 ME, for the deferred recognition of expenditure on studies and projects and the transfer of plots of land acquired for the construction of the village’s external road bypass.
On the other hand, the new accounting system adopted “determined that 800 thousand euros from transfers from the 2023 State Budget are not considered income” and, if it were not applied, the net result would be around 245 thousand negative euros.
Apart from investments with the variant, the net result would be 367 thousand euros, said the president at Monday’s extraordinary public meeting, in which the document was approved by the PS majority, with the PSD abstaining.
Revenue budget execution was 95.1% last year (when in 2022 it had been 95.7%), since, from a corrected budget of 17.1 ME, 16.3 M were collected, plus 44 thousand euros than in the previous year.
Of the total revenue, 13.6 ME are current, slightly above those of 2022 compared to the increases with the sale of current goods and services (from 3 ME to 3.2 ME), as the respective expenditure also increased from 5.2 ME ME to 5.7 ME.
These increases derive, according to the municipality, from inflation caused by the impact of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on supply chains.
Among current revenues, revenues from current transfers (5.1 ME) and direct taxes (4.3 ME, the main source of revenue) remain identical to 2022.
While the income from the Municipal Property Tax (from 4.3 ME to 4.4 ME) and the Single Circulation Tax (from 471 thousand euros to 522 thousand euros) increased, those from the Municipal Tax on Onerous Transfers of Properties (from 1.5 ME to 1.4 ME) and Derrama (from 552 thousand euros to 549 thousand euros), in a slight way.
Capital revenue also contributed to the slight increase in total revenue (from 2 ME to 2.4 ME), driven by capital transfers, which went from 819 thousand euros to 1.9 ME – an increase of 1.1 ME “from of the 2023 State Budget” and the receipt of “overdue” community funds from co-financed projects.
A net income of 16.3 ME corresponded to an expense of 15.7 ME, thus complying with the principle of financial balance.
The budget execution of expenditure was 91.6% (when in 2022 it had been 94.1%), since, from a corrected budget of 17.1 ME, 15.7 ME were paid, 400 thousand euros less compared to to 2022.
This reduction “resulted largely from the performance of capital expenditure, namely expenditure on the acquisition of capital goods”, referring to investments made, which decreased by the same amount (2.1 ME to 1.7 ME).
On the contrary, current expenditure rose (from 11.5 ME to 12.7 ME) through personnel costs (from 5 ME to 5.6 ME) and the acquisition of goods and services (from 5.2 ME to 5.7 ME).
The increase is explained in the first case by salary updates, despite the workforce having decreased to 264 workers, and in the second case by the “generalized increase in prices and the recovery of the position in relation to debt with suppliers”.
The initial budget was 15 ME, but it was changed throughout the year.
The 2023 Accounts Report will be submitted to the municipal assembly on Friday, where the PS also has a majority.
Arruda dos Vinhos has around 14 thousand inhabitants.
