Municipality of Tivat: Good Decision by the President of the State – Government to Find a Better System of Financing Municipalities

Municipality of Tivat Supports the Decision of the President of Montenegro Jakov Milatović to Return the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Local Self-Government Financing to the Parliament

The Municipality of Tivat supports the decision of the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, to return to the Parliament of Montenegro for reconsideration, among other laws, the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Local Self-Government Financing. This law significantly reduces the transferred revenue from the income tax of individuals for municipalities in the coastal and central regions based on the place of residence of individuals earning income.

"In this way, the Municipality of Tivat would lose half a million euros in revenue in the next year alone, an amount that should be invested in our already insufficient city infrastructure. I appeal to the parliamentary majority and the government to reconsider the solutions envisaged by this law, as it further discourages coastal municipalities through another form of equalization, without bringing the desired stimulus to the north," said the President of the Municipality of Tivat, Željko Komnenović.

"The Institute of the Equalization Fund, based on taking from the successful to encourage and assist the less successful, has not yielded results. A new form of the same method will be equally inefficient," emphasized Komnenović, stressing that the Municipality of Tivat consistently shows understanding for the needs of Tivat's health, education, and internal affairs institutions by investing in facilities and directly funding their regular needs. "In return, the state decides to further burden our budget, despite our responsible and prudent approach. I urge the government to reconsider such an attitude towards the coast, to provide us with additional support, and to consult the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro when making such decisions so that we can jointly find a sustainable solution that would ensure a balanced system of local government financing. I understand the need to strengthen local governments in the north, but I am confident that this cannot be achieved by weakening those municipalities that bear the label of developed ones," stated Komnenović.