Municipalities are also suffering because of the increased energy prices as a result of the failed Brussels sanctions. In settlements with more than five thousand inhabitants, a management plan is being prepared for the decisions necessary to save energy, said Miklós Dukai, State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior, on Wednesday in Siófok.

On the closing day of the two-day meeting of the mayors and clerks of Somogy County, Miklós Dukai reported that the management plan includes the settlement's mandatory and voluntary tasks, and what measures are being prepared for the sake of savings, affecting the entire vertical of their operation.

The Secretary of State pointed out that the government has already made several decisions regarding government institutions regarding the limitation of energy use, the opening hours of offices and the administrative break, and at the same time, sensing the problems of the municipalities that maintain large institutions, under the leadership of ministerial commissioner György Balla, the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Finance and started negotiations with them through the delegates of the Ministry of Technology and Industry.

Miklós Dukai said about the savings that can be achieved by operating public lighting that, due to the different situations of the settlements, it is not possible to give uniform guidelines in this matter centrally.

The state secretary indicated that they are aware that service providers sometimes communicate with municipalities in a "knife-wielding style" or do not even respond to their messages.

There are service providers that ask municipalities to switch off light fixtures, one of them a few weeks ago was asking HUF 4,000 for this work, and now it is asking HUF 20,000 plus VAT per light fixture - he added, suggesting that it would be worthwhile to ask qualified electricians for a quote to perform these tasks. .

Miklós Dukai also touched on the maintenance of swimming pools. He reported that the Sports State Secretariat of the Ministry of Defense held separate negotiations with water sports associations and municipalities, as a result of which 49 municipal and 25 state-maintained swimming pools in a regional system can receive support for opening hours by the end of the year.

Pál Réthy, the deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Public Employment and Water Affairs, said that in the current economic and labor market situation affected by inflation and the energy crisis, no further significant reduction in public employment can be expected, and that the government has set the goal of employment corresponding to the current number of employees next year.

Source : Magyar Hírlap

Featured image: MTI