Days ago, the proposal by the Mayor of Neiva Germán Casagua for a 2% surcharge on the property tax for security was known. From my constructive independence, this initiative deserves an in-depth and objective analysis.
First, its legality. A priori there may be doubts when it is seen as a new tax in Neiva, taking into account that the Congress of the Republic is the only one that can create tributes or taxes in the Country. But doing a jurisprudential and regulatory review, it is legally possible. The surcharge is similar to the development or modality of the property tax with a specific destination that in this case would be for security (Art. 8 of Law 1421 of 2010 and Rulings of the Constitutional Court such as C-992 of 2004).
For your convenience, I do not agree with touching people’s pockets more. Given the anguish we are suffering due to insecurity, any proposal can be striking. Security is not a matter of speeches; It requires articulation, leadership, strategies and undoubtedly resources to improve its tools such as technology and strengthen its infrastructure. Neiva already has its local security fund, with a budget of approximately $5 billion a year, unfortunately with historically very poor execution and which is fed by 5% of public works contracts.
Not everything in security is strictly more money, for example a priority issue to resolve is the lack of personnel in the Public Force. But if it were more resources, improving budget execution with efficiency and transparency in the Mayor’s Office allows more public works and this will generate more resources for security, without the need for surcharges.
Additionally, before new surcharges, you must act and set an example in results with the instruments you already have. Likewise, citizens should know: What is the security plan in Neiva? And from there, what is going to be done and what would the resources be invested in?
We will have to wait for how they present the draft agreement. If, for example, that 2% is intended for all strata or only for the upper strata. That will define how much would be raised.
We cannot forget the critical social and economic situation in Neiva. Nearly 80 thousand families endure hunger. Thousands who are choosing between eating or paying for public services such as energy. Unemployment that stands out with concern. The extortion that suffocates many entrepreneurs and businessmen. This requires us to act with great care, responsibility and diligence. That is why Neiva must be reactivated. Improving the citizen economy directly improves security.
Finally, a question arises: Would these new resources reach the existing security fund or will they create a new one? The existing one has a committee where the Public Force participates that defines what the resources are invested in. I guess they’re thinking of a new fund. Be careful! Being a new fund, they can constitute a Trust with permanent direct contracting. This would become a business. I hope that security is not an excuse to look for new direct contracting mechanisms because security cannot be played with and citizen trust is essential to consolidate a true cooperation network, essential to confront crime together.
