Lisbon City Council approved this Friday a proposal by PSD/CDS-PP so that the total value of the fines applied by EMEL is treated as the municipal company’s own revenue, with additions proposed by Livre regarding the application of this amount.
In a private meeting of the municipal executive, the proposals from PSD/CDS-PP and Livre regarding the fines applied by the Lisbon Municipal Mobility and Parking Company (EMEL) were both approved unanimously.
The PSD/CDS-PP proposal determines, “for the year 2024 and onwards, the treatment as EMEL’s own revenue of the entire proceeds from fines applied for traffic offences in the area of prohibited, improper or abusive parking”.
Until the legislative change in 2018, EMEL was required to treat 55% of the proceeds from fines as its own revenue, handing over 10% to the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) and 35% to the State, but, despite the change in the law, “it continued to treat, as before, 55% of the proceeds from fines as its own revenue”, as it had not received guidance from the shareholder on how to treat the remaining 45%.
The PSD/CDS-PP proposal clarifies that not only 55%, but the entirety (100%) of the proceeds from fines for administrative offences resulting from parking inspections carried out by EMEL will revert to EMEL as its operating revenue, which will not have any consequences for the council’s budget.
Following a proposal from Livre, the municipal executive decided that “the 45% of EMEL’s own revenue, resulting from the proceeds of fines applied for traffic offences in the area of prohibited, improper or abusive parking, which it previously handed over to ANRS and the State, after being handed over to the shareholder, be channelled into mobility projects within the framework of an integrated and global strategy for the city of Lisbon”, carried out by the council and municipal companies.
These projects should involve improving the public transport network and service levels in the city, improving pedestrian accessibility, expanding and improving the cycling network and improving road safety in Lisbon, according to Livre’s proposal.
Among the approved measures is also the increase in automatic monitoring means, without the need for human resources from EMEL for road traffic offences, namely through red light and speeding radars, monitoring systems and automatic ticketing of violations of the city’s public transport lanes and road noise radars.
“Urge the Government and parties with parliamentary representation to urgently review the General Noise Regulation, to allow for the inspection and processing and application of fines relating to motor vehicles”, was another of the proposals made possible by the chamber in the Livre document.
The executive of the Lisbon City Council, which is made up of 17 members, includes seven elected from the “Novos Tempos” coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança) – who are the only ones with assigned portfolios and who govern without an absolute majority -, three from the PS, three from Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), two from the PCP, one from Livre and one from BE.
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
