Municipality of Oliveira do Hospital approves management report with balance of 2.5 ME

The 2023 management report and accounts of Câmara de Oliveira do Hospital were approved at the last meeting of the Municipal Assembly, presenting a management balance of 2.5 million euros (ME), the municipality revealed today.

According to the president of the City Council, José Francisco Rolo, the 2023 management report and accounts reflect a rigorous budgetary policy and proactivity in the search for new sources of investment.

“They have allowed us to present high budget execution rates, in the order of 88% in revenue and 80% in expenditure, current savings of around 2 million euros, a budget balance that has risen to more than 2.5 million euros and a slight negative net result of 135 thousand euros (-0.8%), combined with the maintenance of a short payment period to suppliers”, he highlighted.

The 2023 Management report and accounts of the Municipal Council of Oliveira do Hospital were approved, by majority, on April 26, with the abstention of those elected from the PSD/CDS-PP coalition.

According to José Francisco Rolo, elected by the PS, a very large investment was made in this second year of office.

“We were able to obtain the highest revenue ever: 26.5 million euros, and also make the largest investment in memory: 9.4 million euros”, he added.

The mayor highlighted that 2023 was the year in which Oliveira do Hospital received the most funds through European Union community funds, in terms of co-financed projects.

“We are talking about 4.8 million euros, which represents an increase of 65 percent, compared to the year 2022”, he indicated.

2023 was also a year of “completion of several essential investments for the municipality”, including the redevelopment of large areas of the historic center of Oliveira do Hospital.

In terms of creating more and better conditions for economic development, the Mayor pointed to the implementation of the expansion of the Oliveira do Hospital Industrial Zone, which “will bring more investment, more jobs and more wealth production to the municipality” .

The year 2023 was also marked by the commitment to modernizing the municipality’s services, with the entry into operation of Espaço Cidadão and the creation of conditions for the opening of identical spaces in the parishes.

Regarding the “slight negative result”, the leader of the Chamber of Oliveira do Hospital pointed out that it was fundamentally associated with the increase in personnel expenses which, compared to 2022, rose by 8.5% (an additional 478 thousand euros), due to the approved increases in the State Budget for 2023 and “despite the reduction of less than 4% in the number of employees”.

Oliveira do Hospital was also faced with the increase in interest rates and also in terms of the Municipal Tax on Onerous Property Transfers, the Municipality collected “106 thousand euros less in revenue”.

Contacted by the Lusa agency, João Brito, spokesperson for the PSD/CDS-PP coalition in the Municipal Assembly, explained that they did not express “any opposition in relation to the accounts”, however, they pointed out “a weak budget execution”.

“We have an approved budget of 39 million euros and it arrives in December highly inflated. A review is carried out to 25 million euros, which is the real budget of the Chamber, and we reached April and managed to have an execution rate of 85%, because a brutal review has already been carried out!”, he argued.

In his opinion, two lies were committed in December.

“One lie is to make a correction to the budget that goes from being 39 to 25 million euros and the other is that we approve at the same time another budget, for the following year, again of 40 million, when we know that when When we reach December of the following year we will have to rectify it! We create an illusion that we have a brutal investment, when the money is not channeled into works that remain undone or others take so long that they are transferred to the next term”, he concluded.