Financial Committee
The Financial Committee is a body responsible for monitoring and supervising the financial operation of the Municipality, in accordance with Article 72 of Law 3852/2010 (Government Gazette 87/2010, Issue A).
Members of the Committee
Regular Members
- Evangelos G. Fragakis (President)
- Diosmakis N. Spyridis (Vice-President)
- Angeliki F. Vogiatzoglou
- Vasilios S. Roussakis
- Dimitrios H. Fragakis
- Michail A. Stamatiadis
- Vasilios H. Cheimonettos
Alternate Members
- Garyfallia M. Patrou
- Ioannis S. Cheimonettos
- Antonios I. Fanarakis
- Kitrakis H. Chrysovergis
Responsibilities
A. Responsibilities
The Financial Committee is a collective body responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the Municipality’s financial operation (paragraph 1, Article 72 of Law 3852/2010, as replaced by paragraph 1 of Article 3 of Law 4623/2019).
In particular, it has the following decision-making, auditing and advisory responsibilities:
a) Drafts and submits the draft budget.
b) Monitors the progress of budget implementation and submits a quarterly report to the Municipal Council, presenting the Municipality’s revenue and expenditure status. This report, including any observations submitted by the minority, is mandatorily published on the Municipality’s website.
c) Carries out a preliminary review of the financial statement.
d) Decides on the approval of reimbursement of travel expenses incurred by the Mayor, Deputy Mayors and Municipal Councillors when travelling outside the Municipality’s seat for official duties. In urgent cases, the Mayor, a Deputy Mayor or a Municipal Councillor may travel outside the Municipality without prior approval by the Financial Committee. In such cases, the Committee decides without delay whether the travel was justified.
e) Is responsible for the proper execution of the budget.
f) Decides on the annual recruitment plan for personnel of all categories.
g) Submits to the Municipal Council the multi-year plan for the management of the Municipality’s immovable property and is responsible for its implementation.
h) Decides, with due justification, on amendments to the physical or financial scope of contracts, in accordance with the applicable legislation. For the contracts referred to in the preceding sentence, it approves the acceptance protocol by a duly reasoned decision.
i) Decides on the formulation of terms, the drafting of tender notices, the conduct and award of all types of auctions and tenders, including those concerning works, studies, supplies and services, as well as on the establishment of special committees for their conduct and evaluation, composed of its members, specialised scientists, municipal employees or public servants.
j) Draws up its rules of procedure.
k) Examines the need for contracting loans, determines their terms and submits the relevant recommendation to the Municipal Council.
l) Decides on the settlement or discontinuance of legal proceedings where the subject matter does not exceed sixty thousand (60,000) euros. Where the amount exceeds 60,000 euros, it submits a recommendation to the Municipal Council for decision. Settlement or discontinuance of proceedings concerning claims for salaries, allowances, compensation, representation expenses, travel expenses or, in general, any form of remuneration is not permitted, except where the legal issue has been resolved by a decision of a supreme court. The above provision, specifically regarding the filing of legal remedies against a decision, does not apply in cases concerning the determination or conversion of the employment relationship between employees and the Municipality.
m) Decides on the payment of travel expenses and daily allowances to private individuals who are members of committees, working groups or project management teams established by the Executive Committee or the Mayor, for travel within Greece or abroad carried out in the performance of their duties, in accordance with subparagraph D.9 of Law 4336/2015 (A’ 94).
n) Acts as the contracting authority for contracts relating to works, studies, services and supplies, regardless of budget, except for cases falling within the Mayor’s competence for direct award.
o) Submits recommendations on matters of transparency and electronic governance.
p) Submits to the Municipal Council draft regulatory decisions of the Municipality, subject to the provisions of Article 73, paragraph 1(B)(v), and monitors their implementation.
q) Decides on the submission of appeals to administrative authorities.
r) Decides on whether to initiate or not all legal actions and legal remedies, as well as on the waiver thereof.
s) Decides on the appointment of legal counsel and on the revocation of their authorisation, in municipalities where either no lawyers have been appointed on a monthly retainer or those appointed are not entitled to appear before supreme courts and determines their remuneration. It may also assign the provision of legal opinions only where no lawyers have been appointed on a monthly retainer. By way of exception, it may assign a lawyer, on a case-by-case basis, the out-of-court or court handling of matters of particular importance to the Municipality’s interests that require specialised knowledge or experience. In such cases, the lawyer’s remuneration is determined in accordance with Article 281 of the Municipal and Community Code.
t) Decides on:
i. the write-off of debts and exemption from surcharges pursuant to Article 174 of the Municipal and Community Code;
ii. facilitation of debtors for amounts exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand (150,000) euros pursuant to Article 170 of the Municipal and Community Code;
iii. direct award to legal entities and municipal enterprises pursuant to Article 12 of Law 4412/2016 (A’ 147);
iv. the financing of public-benefit enterprises pursuant to Article 259, paragraph 1 of the Municipal and Community Code, as well as the approval of decisions of their boards of directors concerning the collection of reasonable compensation pursuant to paragraph 3 of the same article;
v. the granting of facilities, equipment and resources to public-benefit enterprises pursuant to Article 259, paragraph 4 of the Municipal and Community Code;
vi. the approval of the budgets, balance sheets, financial statements, annual action programmes and activity reports of the Municipality’s legal entities and enterprises.
u) the acceptance of inheritances, bequests and donations.
v) the submission of proposals on behalf of the Municipality for the financing or subsidisation of actions, programmes and related projects from national resources and/or European Union resources and/or any other funding body.
(Paragraph 1, Article 72 of Law 3852/2010, as replaced by paragraph 1 of Article 3 of Law 4623/2019 and amended by subparagraph (a) of paragraph 9 of Article 10 of Law 4625/2019, subparagraphs (c) and (d) of paragraph 1 of Article 177 of Law 4635/2019, paragraph 4a of Article 10 of Law 4674/2020, and paragraph 2 of Article 117 of Law 4674/2020.)
For cases (l), (q) and (r) of the previous paragraph, the decision is taken following a legal opinion issued by a lawyer; the absence of such an opinion renders the relevant decision null and void. This provision also applies where the Municipal Council takes the relevant decision due to the subject matter exceeding sixty thousand (60,000) euros, as referred to in case (l) of the previous paragraph.
(Paragraph 2, Article 72 of Law 3852/2010, as replaced by paragraph 1 of Article 3 of Law 4623/2019 and amended by paragraph 3 of Article 10 of Law 4674/2020.)
As of 01.09.2019, the acceptance of a bequest, inheritance or donation that is explicitly and exclusively allocated to a community with up to three hundred (300) residents is decided by the Financial Committee, following the favourable opinion of the relevant Community President.
(Paragraph 5, Article 82 of Law 3852/2010, as replaced by Article 83 of Law 4555/2018.)
As of 31.08.2019 (the date of entry into force of Law 4625/2019), the competence for the specification of appropriations, where required, is exercised by the Financial Committee instead of the Municipal Council.
(Subparagraph (e) of paragraph 1 of Article 58 of Law 3852/2010, as replaced by paragraph 1 of Article 203 of Law 4555/2018 and amended by paragraph 1 of Article 14 of Law 4625/2019.)
See here an article by DimosNET presenting a comparative table of Article 72 of Law 3852/2010, as in force before and after its amendment by Law 4623/2019.
As of 11.03.2020 (the date of publication of Law 4674/2020), the competence for approving decisions of the boards of directors of Municipal Water and Sewerage Enterprises (DEYA) concerning financial matters regulated by Articles 11 (Special fee for the study, construction and extension of water supply and sewerage works), 25 (Tariffs) and 26 (Differentiation of charges) of Law 1069/1980 (A’ 191) is transferred from the Municipal Council to the Financial Committee.
(Paragraph 5, Article 11 of Law 4674/2020.)
B. Transfer of Competences from the Municipal Council
As of 01.09.2019 (as provided by Article 92 of Law 4555/2018), paragraph 6 of Article 65 of Law 3852/2010 is replaced by Article 72 of Law 4555/2018, thereby providing for the possibility of transferring competences of the Municipal Council to the Financial Committee. Where provisions of laws, presidential decrees or other regulatory acts designate the Municipal Council as the competent body for responsibilities which, pursuant to Law 4623/2019, have been transferred to the Financial Committee or the Quality of Life Committee, the competent bodies for decision-making or approval shall henceforth be the Financial Committee or the Quality of Life Committee.
(Paragraph 18, Article 5 of Law 4623/2019.)
C. Referral of a Matter to the Municipal Council
By means of a special decision adopted by an absolute majority of its members, the Financial Committee may refer a specific matter falling within its competence to the Municipal Council for decision, where it considers that such referral is warranted due to the particular seriousness of the matter.
(Paragraph 3, Article 72 of Law 3852/2010, as replaced by paragraph 1 of Article 3 of Law 4623/2019.)
Tourism Development and Promotion Committee
Within the scope of its responsibilities, the Committee:
• Seeks promotional opportunities and media for the gastronomy, tradition and tourism of the island of Chalki;
• Informs relevant associations about participation procedures, criteria and benefits for the local community;
• Provides the Municipality and the local community with information regarding opportunities for inclusion in tourism media, such as travel guides;
• Organises promotional activities through social media and maintains an active presence at tourism-related events;
• Adopts decisions and convenes meetings for the timely dissemination of information and the planning of actions.