Budapest Assembly votes to keep bonuses mayor’s competency

The Budapest Assembly on Wednesday voted against a proposal of Fidesz councillor Zsolt Wintermantel that would have put decisions on bonuses at city-owned companies into the mayor’s hand.

Wintermantel, who leads the Fidesz chapter in the Budapest assembly, slammed Mayor Gergely Karácsony for paying bonuses “even as the city’s operations are paid for by loans on its current account.” He said the bonuses should have been deferred.

In his response, Karácsony noted that bonus payments had been in the mayor’s hands under previous mayors as the employer of the companies’ employees. Paying bonuses is not a political but a legal obligation, he said.

The proposal was rejected with 13 votes in favour and 17 against.

Wintermantel also criticised the city’s “Community Budget” scheme, saying that the 25,000 votes citizens had cast on the programmes proposed was “precious little”. Regarding previous programmes citizens had voted to be implemented from the community budget, only 13.5 percent of those proposed between 2020 and 2021 had been put into action, he said.

Deputy Mayor Gábor Kerpel-Fronius said the number of voters had grown by 20 percent this year.

Wintermantel also called for a “more confident green strategy”.

The Assembly elected János Fazekas, István Hoffman and Péter Szegvári as members of the Budapest Election Committee. Laszlo Vertesy and Endre Orban became auxiliary members.

The body also adopted in a unanimous vote the amended Budapest Mobility Plan, which lists Budapest’s traffic development plans until 2030.

Source: MTI