A third municipality in Greece is headed for bankruptcy, and specifically the municipality of Acharnes, to the northwest of central Athens.
Despite cuts and efforts to raise revenues, the municipality still showed a deficit of 10.27 million euros on its books.
Acharnes follows the municipality of Salamina, on the eponymous island near the greater Athens area, as well as the municipality of Faistos, on Crete, into being forced to declare bankruptcy.
The development comes after a refusal by the state-run Deposit and Loans Fund to extend another line of credit to the municipality.
In the initial phase, the municipality’s non-elastic expenditures will be funded through a special reserve fund operated by a relevant ministry for such cases, while the municipal budget’s execution also passes to the ministry’s control.
Expected measures, similar to the ones taken on Salamina, include an increase in municipal fees – the hike was 50 percent on the island – the transfer of staff to other posts in the wider public sector and mergers, where possible, of legal entities run by the municipality.
