Mayors Federation presents 9 bills to strengthen municipal management & finances

Mayors Federation President Gabriel Hernández Rodríguez

By THE STAR STAFF

Puerto Rico Mayors Federation President Gabriel Hernández Rodríguez announced on Monday that the organization, which represents New Progressive Party municipal executives, has submitted nine bills to the island Senate focused on addressing administrative, fiscal and local development issues in the island’s 78 municipalities.

“Since the beginning of this legislative session, we have been working to improve municipal administration and seek alternatives to the fiscal impact municipalities are experiencing,” Hernández Rodríguez said in a written statement. “We cannot continue to bleed municipal governments dry; every dollar they lose represents one less service for a child, an elderly person, or a person with a disability. These nine measures we are presenting are solutions that could represent additional funding for municipalities.”

The Camuy mayor noted that the measures seek to guarantee the continuity of essential services and the economic sustainability of local governments, while promoting greater efficiency, autonomy and transparency.

“Municipalities transfer more than $450 million to the central government, including contributions to ASES [the Health Insurance Administration], PayGo, and other instrumentalities, and we cannot allow municipal coffers to be emptied without fair compensation while tax relief laws are being passed,” he stated.

Among the proposals is a freeze on the 1.03% contribution to the Redemption Fund administered by the Municipal Revenue Collections Center (CRIM by its acronym in Spanish). The measure seeks to set a contribution of $126.7 million, which would represent a savings of $7.9 million for municipalities, following the elimination of the inventory tax on prescription drugs through Law 78-2025.

Another measure would amend the Municipal Code so that the CRIM assumes responsibility for collecting municipal taxes for telecommunications services provided outside of Puerto Rico, revenue currently managed by the Office of Management and Budget. Hernández Rodríguez said the change would generate some $1.1 million annually in direct revenue for municipalities.

Additionally, a joint resolution was introduced to distribute $2.4 million in accumulated telecommunications taxes for fiscal years 2020 to 2025, which would benefit municipalities with budget constraints such as Ceiba, Comerío, Florida, Maunabo, Las Marías and Patillas.

Another piece of legislation would allow towns to collect and dispose of used tires directly from tire repair shops, in order to avoid accumulations that pose risks to public health and ensure that local governments can receive payment for services provided according to established rates.

An amendment to the ASES law was also proposed to exempt municipalities from double employer contributions for employees enrolled in the Vital Plan, which is the government health plan. A measure was also proposed to recognize the municipal police commissioner as a public order officer and create the position of deputy commissioner, in order to strengthen the hierarchical and operational structure of local law enforcement agencies.

Another bill establishes the creation of a mandatory registry of bidders for informal municipal auctions, which must be published in general circulation media, with the aim of promoting transparency and fairness in procurement processes.

The Mayors Federation also presented a technical revision of the 2020 Municipal Code to simplify internal processes and strengthen administrative autonomy.