City government announces spending cuts.

Alagoas247 - By means of a decree, published in the edition of this Thursday (12), of the Official Gazette of the Municipality, the mayor of Maceió Rui Palmeira (PSDB) determined that at least four municipal bodies adopt measures to reduce operating expenses and administrative reorganization. The manager's intention, according to the publication, is to mitigate the effects of a supposed financial crisis in Brazil and the reduction in the transfer of the Municipal Participation Fund (FPM). The City Hall of Maceió expects to save R$ 50 million by December.

In a brief press conference early this morning, the city's attorney general and interim municipal government secretary, Ricardo Wanderley, explained that the Infrastructure, Health, and Education departments, as well as the Transportation and Traffic Superintendency (SMTT), need to cut expenses and follow a reduction schedule already planned by the city government, which is 10% now for September and another 30% by December.

According to Wanderley, the structure of the municipal bodies was already lean, but the mayor decided to issue the decree considering the financial crisis in Brazil, adapting the local structure to mitigate the effects. "We are thinking about serving the population, but each department will rethink its monthly spending. Our proposal is that they cut per diems, employee participation in conferences around the country, in short, that they have no extra expenses beyond what is necessary for the functioning of the body," explained the prosecutor.

He guaranteed that the monthly transfers (budget) to the aforementioned secretariats will be deposited according to the cost containment study, and that each manager should seek to save money and present the spreadsheets to the members of the newly created Administrative and Fiscal Management Council, composed of members from the municipal secretariats of Finance, Government, and Human Resources and Heritage. The creation of the council is in the same publication by the mayor in the Official Gazette. According to the decree, the group will monitor and evaluate the measures planned for spending cuts, proposed by the head of the Executive branch.

Although the prosecutor told the press that four agencies would be straining the budget, the decree broadens the scope. It reinforces that the mayor's decision affects agencies and entities of the Direct Public Administration, Autonomous Entities, Public Companies, and mixed-economy companies.

The municipal secretary of Communication, Cleyton Santos, reported that more than 60% of Maceió's expenses come from the federal government. Besides the capital, cities like Ribeirão Preto, Manaus, and Teresina have adopted similar measures. According to him, the savings will serve to fulfill the commitment made by the City Hall to its employees (salary improvements), street resurfacing, investments in health (construction and renovation of health centers), and education (renovation of schools and 17 daycare centers).

The publication considers, in addition to the reduction in constitutional transfers, the tax relief policy conducted by the federal government, the imposition of the sanitation of municipal public finances, the requalification of expenses and contribution to other actions to increase the capacity for investment in projects focused on public policies under the responsibility of the Municipality, and the need for financial reorganization in order to reconcile current expenses with the revenue estimated for the current fiscal year.

With gazetaweb.com