By The Star Staff
The outgoing mayor of Villalba and at-large senator-elect, Luis Javier Hernández Ortiz, said Monday that he will leave an accumulated deficit of $6.3 million at the end of his administration.
That is despite efforts to reduce the $13 million deficit he inherited upon his election in 2012.
“The elimination of the Equalization Fund by the Fiscal Oversight Board [sic] represented a loss of $6.3 million annually, equivalent to 53 percent of the current municipal budget,” Hernández Ortiz said in a message posted on his social networks.
The mayor noted that during his administration he managed to reduce the deficit by more than 50% and achieve operational surpluses in several fiscal years, including one of $2.5 million at the end of fiscal year 2023. However, the accumulated deficit remains at $6.3 million, according to the most recent financial draft.
“We ended operations with a surplus of $2,550,399, which allows us to reduce the inherited deficit to $2.6 million,” said Hernández Ortiz, who attributed the reduction to rigorous administrative measures and a reorganization of municipal operations.
Regarding recovery from natural disasters, Hernandez Ortiz said the municipality has completed nearly 60 percent of the projects approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and has left $40 million on track for future works.
“We left an administration with solid foundations and a significantly smaller deficit than the one we inherited,” he said.
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