Sheriffs and Freeloaders: Local Government Does Not Function Well from Škabrnja and Split to Poreč

Why must we be happy with a GDP growth rate of 2.8 percent? An audit revealed that the Mayor of the Municipality of Škabrnja, Nediljko Bubnjar, paid himself and his deputy nearly 800,000 kuna. Allegedly, this was to help the Municipality avoid foreclosure. This is almost a tenth of this year’s municipal budget, but out of 9.36 million kuna, more than 6.5 million are subsidies. Without these subsidies, the small town that suffered greatly in the war would never have been promoted from a local community to a municipality. Perhaps the case of the Škabrnja sheriff is under the jurisdiction of the State Attorney’s Office, but the status of Škabrnja is in the hands of politics.

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Another case occurs about three hundred kilometers northwest. In Poreč, the powerful Valamar is postponing an investment of more than one hundred million kuna in the Valamar Pinia Family Hotel. On the surface, this has nothing to do with the Škabrnja story, as Valamar’s Austrian owners are lobbying against the introduction of property taxes with this move.

However, in a terse notice on the stock exchange, besides ‘uncertain fiscal policy for investors in tourism,’ they cite ‘challenges in preparing the necessary technical documentation’ as reasons for the delay.

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Regardless of the fact that various levels of authorities are responsible for the complete paperwork with construction and other permits, if the fiscal message is directed at the Prime Minister, the other part primarily falls on local government. And that government in Croatia, evidently, does not function anywhere near the needs and costs.

If you read the current (623rd) issue of Lider, you will see that we have the most expensive government: just for personnel in the executive and legislative branches at the state and local levels, a record 4.8 percent of the state budget is allocated for the European Union. In return, these politicians indiscriminately smooth out municipal cards without measure, meaning they do not perform the job for which they are very well paid.

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Not to mention the territorial organization that reproduces a tier of freeloaders in various Škabrnja that even wealthier states could not finance.

The Mayor of Škabrnja has already had similar remarks from the Audit, numerous local sheriffs arbitrarily stop their Valamars to exhaustion, and the Mayor of Split shamelessly raises the surtax from 10 to 15 percent… Thus, we must be happy even with a GDP growth rate of less than three percent.