RIGA - On Thursday, November 9, Rezekne Vice Mayor Aleksejs Stecs (Together for Latvia) will visit the Finance Ministry to discuss opportunities for Rezekne City Council to take out new loans.
Stets is currently standing in for Rezekne Mayor Aleksandrs Bartasevics (Together for Latvia) who was suspended from his job on November 2 according to the Law on Local Governments.
Rezekne municipality continues to claim that its applications for new loans, which were submitted to the Treasury already on August 15, remain unanswered. Rezekne City Council, which "legally has the same rights as any other municipality, expected to receive a reasoned reply (positive or negative) from the Ministry of Finance in accordance with the applicable laws, but still has received no reply," said the municipality.
On the other hand, Finance Ministry's representative Aleksis Jarockis told LETA that Bartasevics' claims that the Finance Ministry had not answered Rezekne's loan applications were untrue.
According to Jarockis, the Finance Ministry has informed Rezekne City Council twice, on August 24 and again on September 15, that the municipality, in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations, may not take out new loans and start implementing new projects.
As reported, the Finance Ministry instructed Rezekne City Council to submit an updated application for financial stabilization process so that the ministry could assess full information and reasons for financial stabilization process. Rezekne municipality's report was received on September 19.
In the report, Rezekne City Council states that the city's 2023 budget does not foresee the necessary funding to cover all obligations of the municipality. In the ministry's opinion, this is a gross violation of financial management principles as well as of the regulatory framework.
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