Seeking to consolidate

When 42 percent of the municipalities which were included in the so-called Kallikratis overhaul of local authorities in 2010 have yet to post approved balance sheets for use in 2015, and when among them there are 18 municipalities that cannot meet the relevant obligation from 2011, the conclusion is that the majority of the country’s local governments are struggling to modernize. What’s complicating this even more is the fact that the operating costs of 10 percent of the country’s municipalities are greater than their revenues. This means that there are many municipal authorities that have difficulty balancing their finances. Kallikratis, an ambitious government plan to redraw administrative boundaries and cut costs, was introduced by the Socialist government in 2010 and initially triggered protests across the country. Although it tightened the purse strings of local authorities and increased efficiency to an extent, much clearly remains to be done in the realm of local administration.