From ruling parties supporting high fees for betting shops to overthrow Kasumović?

Councilors of Snaga centra in Zenica demand that the Constitutional Court of FBiH immediately consider the constitutionality of the Decision on utility fees in this city, passed at the end of last year, to prevent potential damage to the city budget.

According to the new Decision on utility fees in Zenica, betting shops operating in this city are required to pay between 30,000 and 50,000 KM annually per betting point, instead of the current 3,000 KM. Such a Decision was proposed by Mayor Fuad Kasumović, and supported by city councilors by a majority vote.

Kasumović says that betting shops should pay fees into the budget, from which sports clubs in the city would later be financed.

Some experts believe that the new Decision on utility fees in Zenica could be discriminatory, as it provides for higher fees only for some activities, while exempting others, and that the Constitutional Court could declare such a decision unconstitutional, which would mean multi-million KM compensation to betting shops from the city budget.

Eight councilors of Snaga centra are now demanding that the Constitutional Court in Zenica immediately begin assessing the constitutionality of this decision, in order to avoid potential damage to the city budget. Any delay in assessing constitutionality, according to Snaga centra, only deepens the agony. Two councilors from A-SDA also supported the councilors of Snaga centra.

- If the Council's decision is found to be constitutional, Snaga centra will propose an amendment at the next Council session to increase the fees for betting shops from 50,000 to 100,000 KM per betting point. If the Court declares the Decision unconstitutional, we will immediately proceed with amendments to the Decision on fees, and the City will again have the funds in its account that it should have had by February 28 – state Snaga centra.

- The decision of the Constitutional Court that our councilors requested is a way to get money as soon as possible and is not a boycott of the mayor. We have never worked and will never work against the City – believe Snaga centra.

This party wonders "whether the ruling parties in Zenica intentionally supported higher fees for betting shops, so that they could request the dismissal of Mayor Kasumović, after the potential 'overthrow' of the Decision in the Constitutional Court and possible damage to the City budget? The decision to increase utility fees for certain activities in Zenica was adopted thanks to the votes of councilors from SDA.

- The City Councilors, not the Mayor, adopted such a decision, and without sufficient information, expert confirmations, and facts, which can result in enormous damage to the City budget, financed by citizens. Snaga centra is in favor of a better solution for financing sports and for a different way of collecting utility fees, but not for making decisions that have been, and still are, the subject of lawsuits in the past – state Snaga centra.

Snaga centra believes that the discussion about utility fees in Zenica will end in one of four possible scenarios. They presented the outcomes in Graph 1. They hope that the authorities will choose the solution that will be most beneficial for Zenica. They claim that every fifth decision on utility fees in municipalities across the Federation has been declared unconstitutional so far.

Graph 1