The scenarios that the government is currently examining for the mergers of Municipalities and Communities in the context of local government reform, are revealed today by InBusinessNews.
In essence, the government study has two main scenarios. The two scenarios,
In scenario A the number of Municipalities is 13. This scenario includes 28 Communities whose amalgamation is absolutely necessary for the operation of the proposed Municipalities. The resulting savings are in the range of € 39.324.994 per year.
In scenario B the number of Municipalities is 14. This Scenario includes 24 Communities whose merger is necessary for the operation of the proposed Municipalities. The resulting savings are in the range of € 52.654.520 per year.
These amounts do not include the costs of staffing the municipal responsibilities for the exercise of the new responsibilities provided by law, nor any staffing costs of the Municipalities that have significant problems of administrative adequacy due to lack of staff.
But let us see in detail the scenarios that are examined for the Province of Famagusta.
PROVINCE OF FAMAGUSTA
The free Province of Famagusta consists of 4 Municipalities, Paralimni, Ayia Napa, Deryneia, Sotira. Neighboring communities in the west are the communities of Frenaro and Liopetri. The four Municipalities cover an area of 211 square km with a total population of 29.493 inhabitants of which 21.859 are voters.
1 SCENARIO
Given the small size of the population and the size of the four Municipalities, merging them into a single Municipality is an option that would largely present significant advantages over the current fragmentation system in four relatively small Municipalities.
In this case the new Municipality would present the following data:
The total revenues of the new Municipality will amount to € 40.769.079. Out of the total revenues, only € 5.721.314 will correspond to state sponsorships while € 35.047.765 will be own revenues. The percentage of own revenues in total will be 86%.
The viability of the municipality is ensured by the existence of 27.035 houses that cover 79% of the total number of houses in the Province of Famagusta and 5.076 commercial premises in densities of 194 and 36,4 per square km respectively.
Alternative options
In addition to the original scenario, three additional alternatives are considered. These are:
Alternative 2: The creation of two Municipalities by merging: - Municipalities of Paralimni and Ayia Napa, and - Municipalities of Deryneia and Sotira. - as an additional alternative 3, the possibility of adding to the Municipality that will come from the merger of the Municipalities of Deryneia and Sotira of the two neighboring Communities Liopetri and Frenaros is considered.
Alternative 4: The creation of two Municipalities by merging:
-of the Municipalities of Ayia Napa and Sotira
- of the Municipalities of Paralimni and Deryneia
Conclusion
The best prices are presented by the merging of the four Municipalities into one. This perspective will create a strong sustainable Municipality which will create the conditions for a strong development dynamic in the whole region and will contribute decisively to alleviate the economic inequalities between the tourist developed Municipalities of Ayia Napa and Paralimni in relation to Deryneia and the Municipality of Sotira. The scenario of a Municipality presents the largest savings from economies of scale that are of the order of € 6.933.000 per year. The corresponding savings of the other alternatives are for the Ayia Napa / Paralimni scheme of the order of € 3.000.000 per year, for the Deryneia / Sotira scheme of the order of € 98.000 per year. If the Frenaros / Liopetri Communities are added to the Deryneia / Sotira merger, the economies of scale reach their maximum value leading to an annual savings of € 266.000 per year. The alternative of merging Ayia Napa with the Municipality of Sotira and Paralimni with Deryneia also ensures significant savings of € 1.692.901 and € 1.109.013 per year.
Additional costs of transferring new responsibilities
Unified Licensing Authority in Each Municipality Minimum staffing per municipality (Installation costs are not calculated with the assumption that due to the merger there will be available buildings and offices).
For Small Municipalities
1 Municipal engineer in charge of the service (class A9-11-12) with a salary cost of 47.648 Euros per year.
1 Civil Engineer for the field of building permits (class A9-11-12) with an annual salary cost of 47.648 Euros.
1 Civil Engineer for the field of urban planning permits (classes A9-11-12) with an annual salary cost of 47.648 each year.
2 Technical Engineers for the field of building permits (class A5 - 2nd tier A7-A8) with a salary cost of 29.559 Euros each year.
2 Technical Engineers for the field of urban planning permits (class A5 - 2nd tier A7-A8) with a salary cost of 29.559 Euros each year.
3 Assistant secretaries (class A2-5-7 (ii)) 27.282 Euros each year. Therefore the minimum operating cost of each small municipality is set at 343.026 Euros per year.
For Medium Municipalities
1 Municipal engineer in charge of the service (class A11-13) with a salary cost of 56.011 Euros per year.
1 Civil Engineer for the field of building permits (class A9-11-12) with an annual salary cost of 47.648 Euros
1 Civil Engineer for the field of urban planning permits (classes A9-11-12) with an annual salary cost of 47.648 each year.
4 Technical Engineers for the field of building permits (class A5 - 2nd tier A7-A8) with a salary cost of 29.559 Euros each year.
4 Technical Engineers for the field of urban planning permits (class A5 - 2nd tier A7-A8) with a salary cost of 29.559 Euros each year.
5 Assistant secretaries (class A2-5-7 (ii)) 27.282 Euros each year. Therefore the minimum operating cost of each medium municipality is set at 524.189 Euros per year.
For Large Municipalities
1 Municipal engineer in charge of the service (class A14 (ii)) with a salary cost of € 68.820 per year.
1 Civil Engineer for the field of building permits (class A9-11-12) with an annual salary cost of € 47.648
1 Civil Engineers for the field of urban planning permits (classes A9-11-12) with an annual salary cost of € 47.648 each year.
6 Technical Engineers for the field of building permits (class A5 - 2nd tier A7-A8) with a salary cost of € 29.559 each year.
6 Technical Engineers for the field of urban planning permits (class A5 - 2nd tier A7-A8) with a salary cost of € 29.559 each year.
7 Assistant secretaries (class A2-5-7 (ii)) 27.282 Euros each year. Therefore the minimum operating cost of each large municipality is set at € 709.798 per year.
