In Savona, the city Giunta has approved the 2025 forecast budget, estimated at nearly 69 million euros for current expenditure. This budget stands out for its focus on vulnerable groups, featuring tax relief, increased social spending, and investments in the education sector.
Mayor Marco Russo and Budget Assessor Silvio Auxilia emphasize that the budget is “cautious,” as it is approved before the year’s end, lacking many elements such as measures from the Financial Bill. Nevertheless, it strengthens past decisions and includes “significant signals” like support for the most vulnerable citizens and improvements in services. Additionally, the project for the Capital of Culture is included, necessitating the alignment of projects and resources towards this goal, with an investment of 30,000 euros for the preparation of governance and cultural venues such as the Palazzo della Rovere.
As for the fiscal measures, an exemption that has been absent since 2016 is reintroduced, raising the exemption on the payment of the municipal additional income tax for vulnerable groups to 10,000 euros. Furthermore, there is a provision to eliminate the IMU rate for properties designated as social housing awaiting allocation for a maximum of 18 months, allowing Arte to allocate more resources for maintenance.
In the social sector, spending on Welfare sees a slight increase, reaching 5.576 million euros. The main allocations include an increase for children in care facilities to 1.2 million euros, for the elderly and disabled to 1.05 million euros, and for summer stays to 85,000 euros, expanding the offer to include disabled individuals.
For schools, spending rises to cover services such as catering in school canteens, which increases to 1.5 million euros, and in nurseries, with 208,000 euros. School assistance for disabled students rises to 477,000 euros to meet the growing demand and offset the reduction in regional resources.
Finally, maintenance receives additional funding: 600,000 euros for routine road maintenance, 1 million euros for public green spaces, 560,000 euros for municipal buildings, and 25,000 euros for furnishings and communal assets, underscoring the council’s commitment to the upkeep of the area.