Many mayors did not pay high deposits and now they have been corrected. But they are higher than those criticized
SLOVAKIA / Hundreds of towns and villages in Slovakia turned off public lighting yesterday to alert our government to the need for help with high energy prices. The irony is that just today they found repair invoices in their mailboxes. But paradoxically, they are even higher than the original ones.
The mayors of many children were left in shock after the new gas bills were published. Now they have more than promised to pay. “We have an increase of more than 8,000 euros, that’s the help…” said the mayor of Nižný Hrušov Ján Fenčák. According to one of the mayors, suppliers have also adapted: “they heard that the government would subsidize, so they arranged accordingly.”
The gas supplier stands behind the repair invoices. “With the price, we assumed that it would be capped at 199 euros. However, the government decided that the price should be invoiced according to the supplier, while it can retroactively demand compensation from the Ministry of Economy.”
Municipalities cannot pay, if the problem is not solved, radical savings will begin. “We will provide services from kindergarten, through culture to the support of the municipal school,” said Fenčák. The Ministry of Economy said that it has nothing to do with the invoices and that its task only begins with the subsequent compensation, which cities and municipalities can start asking for in mid-February.
The operation of the ice rink remains a luxury for the village. The more than 40-year-old skating rink in Komárno is ending this year. There are no funds for further cooling of the ice. Energy prices have tripled. The city costs 40 euros for an hour of cooling, plus lighting and heating water for the cabin. “For us, a temperature of +1 is already warm, we have to cool it,” Mrsaid the head of the rink Jaroslav Malina.
The city has always subsidized the ice rink from its budget, but now it no longer has it. “Schools, the public went and hockey games. We shut down the machines, there will still be ice tomorrow, but it will no longer be suitable for skating.” stated Malina.
