MAYOR Jed Patrick Mabilog has instructed Iloilo City’s finance team to incorporate all mandatory obligations in drafting the proposed 2015 annual budget to veer away from supplemental budgets and realignments of budget.
Mabilog admitted he is not comfortable in running after a budget good for six months only, as was the usual practice in the past to be augmented by supplemental budgets within the year.
“I wanted a corrected annual budget with full implementation for one year,” he said Wednesday.
The proposed 2015 annual executive budget registered P1.6 billion by posting P218 million increases over the 2014 budget.
Among those to be incorporated in the annual budget are mandatory obligations for capital outlay, fund for the local legislative support program, CESPEDIC employees, honorarium base personnel and additional allowance to National Government officials and employees.
City Council appropriations committee chair, Councilor Eduardo Penaredondo, earlier said the City Government will have a windfall in 2015 to cover all expenditures.
He said the city will start implementation of the 30 percent hike on real property taxes by January 2015.
Similarly, business incentives given to the Panay Energy Development Corporation will end by the end of 2014 and the energy firm will have to pay the full taxes in 2015.