Debt swamp in Aegean provinces
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Doğan News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 01, 2009 00:00
İZMİR - The municipality of the western province of Balıkesir is the most indebted among the municipalities along the Aegean coast with TL 227 million, while Çanakkale municipality has the least debt with 16 million. Municipalities suffers from shrinkage in overall taxes collected
The total debt of seven municipalities along the Aegean coast has reached nearly 630 million Turkish Liras, but mayors are split over whether or not the debt is a sign of financial trouble.Due to the global crisis, the weakening payment power of residents is putting municipalities in dire straits. While Balıkesir Municipality became the most indebted with 227 million liras, Çanakkale Municipality has the least debt with 16 million liras.
The newly elected mayors who found the heaps of dept in their municipalities are thinking hard to find a way out. Municipalities get a share from taxes collected in their city but are suffering from shrinkage in the overall taxes collected. Balıkesir Mayor İsmail Ok said, "We have a debt of 227 million liras. We will do our best not to let this hamper our public services. Despite all this debt, we will accomplish our election promises."
Stating that Aydın Municipality had a dept of 100 million liras, Aydın Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu said, "This debt is too much for Aydın. We have made a plan to pay half the debt in a year. We will try to cut our expenses and expand our income. At the moment we are using our money very carefully. No matter what, we will pay our debts." Uşak Mayor Ali Erdoğan, pointing out that they are in a very difficult situation with debt of 55.42 million liras from the previous term, said, "We have to use our resources in the best way. It is certain that we will have difficulties because of this debt. Saving seems to be the best way to passed this."
Stating that he has took over the post with a debt of 92 million liras, Manisa Mayor Cengiz Ergün said, "The debt is more than we expected. The former mayor left this debt despite 35 million liras from privatization income. When we look at the total debt, there should have been many things done to improve Manisa, but they aren’t there. Since I took over the post, we have saved 17 million liras. We canceled the new hall construction expected to cost 18 million liras."
Debt comes from investments
The mayors of Denizli, Muğla and Çanakkale, who were re-elected in this year’s local elections, said the debts of their municipalities have come from municipal investment in the cities. Denizli Mayor Nihat Zeybekçi said Denizli Municipality had 60 million liras of debt before the local election and took over an additional 32 million liras when 13 new districts were connected to Denizli.
"We have a total of 92 million liras of debt. It is not too much for a city like Denizli. Our 2009 budget is 250 million liras. We will continue investing in our city. I can say that we have no financial problem," Zeybekçi said. Muğla Mayor Osman Gürün said they have a debt of 47 million liras. "This debt is mostly owed to the World Bank and is because of infrastructure investment in the city. Another part of the debt is owed to the Provincial Bank and was used for asphalting. We do not owe anything to municipal personnel and we are still making our payments on time. We are in debt for because the city needed investment. We do not get the support we need from the government."
Çanakkale Mayor Ülgür Gökhan said, "We have debt worth 16 million liras. We are paying it on time. Our credit limit is high thanks to a favorable risk analysis by the Provincial Bank. Our municipality has an income of 43.7 million liras. We have no financial problem."
The newly elected mayors who found the heaps of dept in their municipalities are thinking hard to find a way out. Municipalities get a share from taxes collected in their city but are suffering from shrinkage in the overall taxes collected. Balıkesir Mayor İsmail Ok said, "We have a debt of 227 million liras. We will do our best not to let this hamper our public services. Despite all this debt, we will accomplish our election promises."
Stating that Aydın Municipality had a dept of 100 million liras, Aydın Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu said, "This debt is too much for Aydın. We have made a plan to pay half the debt in a year. We will try to cut our expenses and expand our income. At the moment we are using our money very carefully. No matter what, we will pay our debts." Uşak Mayor Ali Erdoğan, pointing out that they are in a very difficult situation with debt of 55.42 million liras from the previous term, said, "We have to use our resources in the best way. It is certain that we will have difficulties because of this debt. Saving seems to be the best way to passed this."
Stating that he has took over the post with a debt of 92 million liras, Manisa Mayor Cengiz Ergün said, "The debt is more than we expected. The former mayor left this debt despite 35 million liras from privatization income. When we look at the total debt, there should have been many things done to improve Manisa, but they aren’t there. Since I took over the post, we have saved 17 million liras. We canceled the new hall construction expected to cost 18 million liras."
Debt comes from investments
The mayors of Denizli, Muğla and Çanakkale, who were re-elected in this year’s local elections, said the debts of their municipalities have come from municipal investment in the cities. Denizli Mayor Nihat Zeybekçi said Denizli Municipality had 60 million liras of debt before the local election and took over an additional 32 million liras when 13 new districts were connected to Denizli.
"We have a total of 92 million liras of debt. It is not too much for a city like Denizli. Our 2009 budget is 250 million liras. We will continue investing in our city. I can say that we have no financial problem," Zeybekçi said. Muğla Mayor Osman Gürün said they have a debt of 47 million liras. "This debt is mostly owed to the World Bank and is because of infrastructure investment in the city. Another part of the debt is owed to the Provincial Bank and was used for asphalting. We do not owe anything to municipal personnel and we are still making our payments on time. We are in debt for because the city needed investment. We do not get the support we need from the government."
Çanakkale Mayor Ülgür Gökhan said, "We have debt worth 16 million liras. We are paying it on time. Our credit limit is high thanks to a favorable risk analysis by the Provincial Bank. Our municipality has an income of 43.7 million liras. We have no financial problem."