Chisinau budget approved in first reading after heated discussions

The budget of Chisinau municipality was approved on December 2 after heated discussions, with 31 votes in favor. The local councilors could not agree the figures. The councilors of the PCRM, PPCD and several independent councilors abstained from voting, Info-Prim Neo reports. Deputy mayor Mihai Furtuna said the budget for 2011 will provide for revenues of 1.78 billion lei and an expenditure of 1.85 billion lei. The deficit is 66,000 lei. Liberal-Democrat councilor Emil Gutu said the faction of the PLDM will vote in favor of the draft budget in first reading, but established that it does not define the development goals in a number of areas and cannot contribute to progress in the municipality. Thus, it should be improved. Victor Savin, a member of the faction of the Moldova Noastra Alliance, said the draft budget is unreal. “It is unclear how we will survive in 2011 without increasing the total revenues as the prices of a number of public utilities have been raised this year,” said Savin. He stated that no money is allotted again to the health protection sector. “The 7 million lei earmarked for healthcare is intended for remunerating the medical personnel. What about the 17 medical institutions and 14 health centers from the suburbs. We suggest increasing the revenues by 130 million lei by the second reading.” Independent councilor Oleg Cernei said 100 million lei is earmarked for the police, which is not under the mayor’s administration. “We should demand modifying the law on the police so that the municipal police be financed from the state budget,” he said. The leader of the Communist faction Valery Pavlov said the draft budget is defective and they will not accept it until it is improved. After debates and discussions, Mihail Furtuna said the draft budget will be reviewed so as to remove the deficit. Under the draft budget, 931,575.2 million lei will be spent on education, 65,523.6 million lei on culture, 7,727.7 million lei on healthcare, 177,568.2 million on social support, 7,840.9 million lei on industry and constructions.