Central govt. backs Słupsk bailout

“Thanks to the support of the government promised by Ewa Kopacz we will avoid financial disaster,” president of Słupsk Robert Biedroń said.

Słupsk has faced financial problems after being ordered to pay the builders of an unfinished aquapark in the city the sum of PLN 24.5 million.

Biedroń had been looking at various options to repay the money, appealing also to central government for support. He said that the PM had promised to cover road building, renovation of social housing and support culture institutes in lieu of the aquapark payment.

"I would like to say that Ewa has kept her word. I never thought I would say that in the case of Civic Platform (PO)," Biedroń said, although did not say precisely how much the central budget would cover the city’s financial gap.

The Court of Arbitration in Warsaw ruled in favour of Termochem, the builders of the Trzy Fale (Three Waves) aquapark in Słupsk. The deadline for payment was set at 12 July and the District Court in Gdańsk upheld the decision on 24 June.

Słupsk's revenues this year are planned at around PLN 481 million, mainly from taxes, in addition to educational grants of about PLN 120 million.

The city has been spending more than it earns for the last six years and plans to note a deficit of PLN 6 million this year. It is about PLN 278 milion in longer-term debt, mainly to the EU and is now paying PLN 13 million in annual interest rates.

"The city cannot take any more loans because it won’t be able to pay them back,” the city’s treasurer Dorota Bałukonis said. (jh)