Despite the serious economic crisis, the municipality of Cipolletti closed its financial balance with a million-dollar surplus in the first quarter of 2024. According to official data published by the Comptroller’s Office, the municipal coffers are in good health and have a remainder of almost 20,000 million pesos, just over 10% of the annual budget.
But why does a municipality that declared an economic emergency months ago have so many millions of pesos “left over”? The answer focuses mainly on collection. The first months of the year are the ones that generate the most resources mainly due to the contribution of national and provincial co-participation.
Although there was a cut in the resources sent nationally, the most memorable was the removal of the public transportation subsidy, the The collection was good for the local Executive Branch.
Another important variable was the collection of municipal taxes. The municipality offered generous discounts for the semi-annual and annual payment of municipal taxes and that flow accumulated as many millions of pesos.
The summary of the quarterly report showed that the collection was 6,229 million pesos, of which 4.48 million were executed. The balance in favor at the end of March was 1,920 million pesos.
Sources consulted from the Executive Branch explained that it is “normal” because there was a lot of income in that first segment of the year, but in the current period the balance will be more balanced because the execution is maintained and the collection is not.
It is also explained, and was recognized by municipal officials, that the mayor Rodrigo Buteler established a policy of great austerity in the management of municipal accounts. The decision to cut the municipal staff at the beginning of the administration was one of the decisions made by the lawyer and former provincial official.
It was the first conflict he had with the unions. Although there was a commitment to review the situation of each hired worker, there were practically no reinstatements.
From the official document it appears that between 35 and 38% of municipal taxes were collected and non-tax income, above the average for that segment of the year. Another item that was above what was projected is the collection of fines, which in March reached 40% of what was budgeted: almost 300 million pesos.
At the end of last year, the Deliberative Council declared an economic emergency in Cipolletti and granted new tools to the Executive Branch to use the resources of the municipal State. One of them is the power to terminate extensions or renegotiate contracts. “whether works, services, supplies, public concession, consulting and/or any other type, concluded prior to December 9, 2023, including the established fees, to which the Municipality of Cipolletti is a party” .
The first measure that the communal chief took was to cut the political staff by 40% compared to the previous administration. Subsequently “lowered” many contracts of municipal employees. The distribution of food to the city’s dining rooms and picnic areas was also cut and the national strategy was copied with social policy: meeting demand directly with citizens.
