RIGA, Feb 10 (LETA) - The eastern Latvian city of Rezekne will have a budget of EUR 52.4 million this year, with measures ongoing to stabilize the municipal finances, the city's interim administration decided on Monday.

Ilze Kaulakane, head of the municipal economic and finance authority, said at the meeting of the interim administration that the 2025 budget is aimed at ensuring the performance of the municipality's functions on the existing level. Budget revenue has been approved at EUR 52.4 million and expenditure at EUR 51.6 million.

Kaulakane noted that Rezekne's liabilities still remain high - at 20.3 percent.

Financial stabilization measures will also continue in Rezekne this year. Kaulakane explained that the municipality will not renew or announce applications for a number of the municipality's voluntary initiatives for the time being. For example, this applies to municipal co-funding of energy efficiency improvements in apartment buildings and landscaping, co-funding of summer camps and other initiatives.

Guna Puce, head of the Rezekne interim administration, said that the city's 2025 budget had gone through "several rounds of discussions" and that when unpopular decisions have to be taken, discussions are difficult. She also noted the financial situation in Rezekne will remain difficult "for a while" and although the budget has been balanced, there is still work to be done to improve efficiency and assess development options.

At a media briefing in Rezekne last December, Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens (New Unity) said that the financial situation in the city has been stabilized, but that there are very big challenges ahead, including the adoption of the 2025 budget.

The minister said that the 2025 budget is projected to be similar to the 2024 budget - around EUR 53 million, including EUR 30 million for the municipality's operational costs.

As LETA reported, under the previous Mayor of Rezekne, Aleksandrs Bartasevics (Together for Latvia), the city run into severe economic trouble and was no longer able to meet its financial obligations. In autumn 2023, financial irregularities were detected in Rezekne, which led to the inability to meet its financial obligations. Under these circumstances, Bartasevics was removed from office. He has challenged his suspension in court.

The Rezekne mayor was suspended for serious and systematic irregularities in the management of the work of the city council and for his responsibility for the organization and management of the municipality's budget implementation process. The irregularities in question, as well as the fact that the chairman of the city council failed to provide factual, truthful, comparable, comprehensible and complete information on the financial situation of the municipality and on the preparation and implementation of the municipality's budget, demonstrated the inability of the mayor to fulfill his duties.