Santo Domingo.– The mayor of Santo Domingo Oeste, Francisco Peña, expressed his disagreement with the restrictions that, according to him, the law imposes on city councils for the management of their budgets, considering that these rules limit the capacity to respond to the real needs of the communities.
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The mayor complained that city councils cannot move resources from one line item to another according to the municipality’s urgencies. “If you cannot use the money where you need it, you cannot make a transfer from one chapter to another; you have to seek the approval of the council members, and that brings many consequences,” he stated. In that sense, he questioned why the central government does not have the same limitations. “The government does not have those restrictions, and if it is said that we are local governments and so important, then why do they keep putting those obstacles in our way?”, he wondered. Peña also criticized the sanctions contemplated by the law for any minimal deviation in spending. “If you have 25% in personnel and spend 26%, that’s why they want to put you in jail for two years,” he expressed, considering the penalties disproportionate to municipal responsibilities. Peña insisted on the need to review the legal framework governing municipal administration, to allow for greater budgetary flexibility and more efficient management for the benefit of communities.
