It looks like Geneva won’t have a budget for next year.
The State Council is proposing a record deficit of CHF 740m, but members of the Finance Committee refused even to examine the plan during their meeting yesterday.
Ten members from a wide variety of parties voted against opening the file, while five from the Socialists and Greens voted in favour.
The issue now moves to the full Grand Council. If it also rejects the proposal, the government will have to present a new draft by the end of March, and in the meantime run the canton on this year’s budget, renewed month by month.
Amendments submitted today show limited room to manoeuvre, leaving no space for new hires, including police and teachers, despite ongoing complaints about understaffing.
The deficit has widened since September, driven largely by falling corporate and personal tax revenues.
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