So far, the Union of Municipalities has not managed to meet with the Minister of Finance, so that it becomes clear whether there is a possibility that they will be granted additional funding, with the result that some Municipalities are at risk in the coming months to declare a stoppage of payments and proceed with layoffs, according to Mr. Galanos.
Speaking today at a press conference, Mr. Galanos said that at the moment there are municipalities that have cut street lighting in an attempt to save money to be able to endure, while he added that some others have imposed taxes and others have drastically reduced their expenses .
It was also noted that the planned cultural events of some municipalities have been reduced by half.
As Mr. Galanos mentioned, "we are living through a third Attila, which we created to a large extent ourselves, a very bad economic situation, which the Republic of Cyprus has never experienced in all these years".
“Even in 1974,” he said, “there were prospects for growth and the morale of the world was not where it is today. I am not saying this to seek blame, nor is this the time to seek blame. Responsibilities exist and are great. But it's none of our business. We as Municipalities work for a common goal. I want to say, however, that it is not something that has only been done recently. It's a mindset and there is no such thing as an empty cup in this place."
He added that what he is surprised about "is that under these conditions a National Economic Council has not been established, which meets every week and all parties participate, but we still let the economy be part of a party confrontation regardless of the mistakes and responsibilities".
Regarding the financial crisis of the Cyprus Municipalities, Mr. Galanos stated that "despite the efforts we have made, despite the warnings that have been given, despite the General Assembly of the Union of Municipalities, which took place about a year ago month, the memorandum we sent to the President, the calmness we demonstrated, it is a fact that there are Municipalities, which are ready to close".
"There are municipalities that cannot but proceed with layoffs. We expected them to meet with the Minister of Finance, with the President of the Republic to see the issue of the cuts that were made and which no longer allow the continuation of the operation of the Municipalities in general", he said.
He claimed that "part of the cuts made by the government are illegal". He referred to the cut that was made in the grant given against the business tax, which was abolished in 2002, noting that there was a contract between the Municipalities and the Government, which became law in 2003, that the corresponding amount is given to the Municipalities as a grant. "Normally, without the annual increase, the debt to the Municipalities of 8 million euros would have to be given. It was severed and badly, because the Government had no right to do so, because it is not legally correct", he said.
"We are talking about Cyprus' struggle against the occupation, we are talking about a solution to the Cypriot problem. Do you think this fight can go on without the background? Our background and strongest weapon has always been the economy. At the moment our feeling is that the background has been lost, so we have to look to train much more seriously than we do now on the issue of the economy and collectively," he added.
Referring to the actions that the Union of Municipalities intends to promote to its members, Mr. Galanos said that they concern specific savings in operational costs, the limitation of recruitment to the absolute minimum and internal movement of officials to cover gaps and the development of collaborations between Municipalities in the sector of Services to the Citizens, with the aim of providing seamless services while simultaneously saving resources.
Also, the Association of Municipalities promotes savings from the reduction of artistic events, purchase of services where this is appropriate after consultation with the guilds, with the aim of increasing performance at a lower cost, increasing efforts to collect amounts owed to the Municipalities, etc.