„Middle European Class“ political party opposed the proposal of the Mayor of Burgas Dimitar Nikolov to raise the fees. On this occasion, the following position was circulated:
„Dear residents of Burgas,
We, the municipal councilors from „Middle European Class“ political party, would like to express our firm position against the proposed increases of some fees and services by Mayor Dimitar Nikolov. We are very concerned about the administration’s desire to increase the „household waste“ fee by 30%, which is due to come into effect next year.
This increase is a consequence of the plan for 2024 related to garbage collection, garbage removal and disposal activities. The proposed increase is over BGN 4 million or nearly 16% compared to the plan-account for 2023, which will be implemented according to the Municipality within the set financial parameters. Here comes the question, if we are covering the costs of collection, garbage disposal and treatment of household waste in 2023, why do we need to set higher costs for these activities and, respectively, we need to increase the household waste fee by 30% in 2024.
Although the administration’s reasoning relates to the low levels of this levy in the country and that we have used up the surplus we had available as of 2014, amounting to BGN 21 million, „Middle European Class“ believes that there is insufficient evidence for such a shock increase. We give the example of the activity relating to the cleaning of chewing gum, bird excrement, graffiti, etc., where the budgeted expenditure in the 2024 plan is BGN 1,896,363. We are extremely interested in how much chewing gum and how much excrement is washed or removed is tracked and how this activity is measured. We would like to remind the Municipality of Burgas that the amount of the fees is determined based on the costs incurred for the relevant activities and services, and at this moment the Municipality of Burgas covers the costs of household waste.
The Municipality of Burgas is also planning an increase in other fees, including for the „Blue Zone“, summer clubs, tourist sites and sports facilities. The reasons for these increases related to higher electricity, fuel and inflation prices do not seem convincing to us, especially in the context of the current decline in both electricity and fuel prices as well as inflation.
We, in our capacity as councilors from „Middle European Class“, are determined to protect the interests of the residents of Burgas and prevent this financial blow to them. In this regard, we will not support the proposed increases in fees and services by the Municipality of Burgas during the upcoming session of the Municipal Council and we invite the other municipal councilors to do the same.
Let’s stand together against unreasonable and unjustified increases that will affect each and every one of us. It is our duty to protect the interests of citizens and work to achieve a balanced and fair financial policy in our municipality.
Sincerely,
Ivan Ivanov, Stoyan Tsarev, Nikolay Zhelev – Municipal Councillors from „Middle European Class“
