'It is important to understand that the financial situation of Vilnius City municipality is extremely bad. Its financial obligations-planned income ratio is 208 % whereas 118 % of it all is loans. This suggests that the municipality is bankrupt' - said A. Butkevičius.
The Prime Minister met with the leaders of the city municipality as well as the city's mayor Artūras Zuokas. After the meeting, the mayor said that he made a deal with the Prime Minister that next year Vilnius will receive more tax revenue that is paid by its residents - it will increase from 42 % to 50 %.
A. Butkevičius said it will be only one of many measures to improve the city's financial situation. According to him, Vilnius will receive a short-term loan from the Ministry of Finance. This loan could be used to cover other loans and financial obligations, such as salaries; however, with this money the city will not be able to start new projects.
'Future projects will have to be funded from planned income' - added A. Butkevičius. According to him, any additional funding received from the government will have to be used as indicated by the government, i.e. for the repayment of loans rather than new grandiose projects.
When asked whether it is time to think about direct governance implementation in the city, the Prime Minister joked that this question is postponed to the future, i.e. this will depend on whether the current administration will abide to the agreement with the state government. The Mayor himself said the city's debt is about 1.1 billion litas.
www.L24.lt