Larnaca, Cyprus. The union of municipalities said on Friday that municipal workers across Cyprus may go on strike if the central government does not increase grants to local authorities. Municipal leaders said they would wait for the government’s final written position next week before deciding on further action.
Mayors signal possible measures
Larnaca mayor and union of municipalities chairman Andreas Vyras said after a meeting of mayors that there was unanimity among them on taking measures. He added that Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou had viewed the municipalities’ requests for more funding positively.
Vyras said the union would await the government’s final written position next week, after which the union of municipalities’ board of directors would meet and inform municipal officials on how the matter was progressing.
Concerns over rising costs
Municipalities said the 2024 local government reform law set a fixed amount in grants for municipalities across the island, while operating expenses have risen in the two years since then.
Vyras also said municipalities may be asked to bear the cost of landfilling waste, as well as repay €16 million for waste management units in the Larnaca district village of Koshi and the Limassol district village of Pentakomo.
Dispute over tax increases
He said the central government had suggested that municipalities increase local taxes to cover the losses.
Vyras said the public should know that municipal councils were not responsible for tax increases and that the proposal had come from the central government as an official proposal.
Municipalities reject mismanagement claims
Vyras said local authorities were not mismanaging their resources and that additional central government funding was therefore required.
He said significant steps had been taken in recent years in the way municipalities are managed and challenged any audit body to examine whether there was mismanagement in any municipality.
Choice between funding and higher taxes
Vyras said there was no other proposal at present except either to seek more money from the central government or to raise municipal taxes. He added that municipalities must continue to collect rubbish, clean towns, and maintain dangerous roads.