The debt from the deceased Termica is a reason for dispute between the former and the current mayor in the election year. During a CL meeting, spirits were heated again between Cătălin Flutur and Cosmin Andrei. This is in the context where Botoșani City Hall has its accounts blocked due to the debt the municipality has to the liquidator Termica.
On Thursday, April 25, in the ordinary meeting of the Local Council related to April, PSD mayor Cosmin Andrei and PNL local councilor Cătălin Flutur disputed the blame they bear in the case of the debt to the liquidator Termica.
To Flutur’s proposal aimed at lowering the level of local taxes and fees, Andrei brought several arguments against, including the difficult situation the Municipality is going through because the accounts have been blocked, since mid-April, because of that debt. Just like the last time the town hall had its accounts blocked, Andrei hopes to receive support from the Government.
“We have blocked accounts for the sum of 59 million lei, debt to Termica. (…) I have made approaches to the Government, I am waiting for a positive signal at the beginning of May. These debts, because we did not pay the base, increase by 2 million lei every 5-6 months. 2 million lei for what you did with Termica”, declared the mayor Cosmin Andrei.
Blame passed between the mayors
On the other hand, former mayor Cătălin Flutur denies the accusations of mayor Cosmin Andrei and claims that the latter would be one of those responsible for the appearance of the debt.
“I’m going to present you exactly the situation with Termica because you really don’t understand. In 2013, you blocked, Mr. Portariuc, but you were deputy mayor, the second tax for Termica. I show you with documents. We didn’t have to pay that money, we only had to pay 1.8 million euros. I had an agreement with the liquidator, in four installments. I paid my installment in 2012, you refused to pay the installment. At that point you played the liquidator’s game which went to that amount. That loan was not made by Termica, it was made by Mr. Mayor Egner in 2003, these are the sums there”, said Catalin Flutur.
“This money goes to the state budget”
Flutur continued, arguing that this money is not lost, but goes to the state budget, and claimed that the situation would have been easily resolved if the rescheduling schedule had been followed.
“Wait a minute, this money is not going anywhere, this money is going to the state budget. It’s a very simple thing. Just as the Ministry of Finance gave the 50 or so million and collected them the next day, they will do the same this time. You keep citing that problem with Termica, but for which it is your fault, because you did not respect the rescheduling schedule, you did not want to”, Flutur concluded.
The debt that led to this situation is almost 108 million lei. The city hall was in a similar situation at the end of 2022. Then, after the institution’s accounts were blocked, the municipality obtained 50 million lei from the Government to pay approximately half of the amount charged by the liquidator. Currently, it still has 59 million lei to pay, which is why, the other day, the city hall’s accounts were blocked again.
The municipality can only pay salaries
Practically, more than a decade after the closure of Termica, the municipality still has problems because of the company. These start from the way in which the municipality took over the Termica heritage in 2010, which it handed over to the new operator, Modern Calor.
Currently, the institution can only pay employees’ salaries, because, according to the law, they cannot be blocked. However, they are guaranteed only for a period of 3 months, according to the legislation in force.
The bankruptcy of Termica was declared in 2010
Termica, the heating company of Botoşani Local Council, went bankrupt in 2010, with debts of over 120 million lei. Then there is a risk that people connected to the centralized system will be left without heat. In this context, the local authorities at that time decided to close Termica and create a new heating company, namely Modern Calor.
The Termica heritage was taken over by the municipality. In 2011, Lulu Dascălu, the liquidator of the company, sued Botoşani City Hall, arguing that the assets transferred to the new company would have been undervalued. Moreover, he complained that the City Hall did not hand over the thermal points on time either, collecting money from the rents, sums due, in fact, to the former company Termica, the liquidator specified. Lulu Dascălu requested in court the cancellation of the invoice for the transfer of the Termica patrimony to the City Hall, as well as the amount related to the rent collected by the municipality from the thermal points. In total, around 16 million euros were demanded from the City Hall in court.
In 2011, when the liquidator Termica initiated the first lawsuits in court, the municipality signed the contract for 45.2 million euros, money that was invested in the rehabilitation of the heating system. The project ended in December 2015.
Botoşani has one of the most modern heating systems in the country, but this is not reflected in the number of domestic customers. Modern Calor still had 9,900 household customers at the end of last year. The lack of domestic customers is compensated by public institutions and economic agents that have contracts with Modern Calor.
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