21 million lira lien on municipality's executive office

Due to a debt of approximately 21 million TL remaining from the term of former Mayor Cemil Deveci to the company Besapark Araç Park Vale Temizlik Hizmetleri ve Organizasyon İnşaat Ticaret Sanayi Limited Şirketi, a lien was placed on Mayor Türkel's office chair, desk, air conditioner, television, and guest chairs.

Mayor Türkel, who recently announced the financial statement of Atakum Municipality, had reported that as of April 1, 2024, the municipality had a debt of approximately 953 million TL. The municipality's 11,000-square-meter plot of land located in İncesu Neighborhood had been sold at half price through foreclosure.

"WE WILL PAY OUR DEBTS"

Mayor Türkel had also requested authorization from the Atakum Municipal Council to take out a loan with a borrowing limit of 87 million 500 thousand TL to counter the liens.

Emphasizing that an austerity policy has been implemented in the municipality due to the debts, Türkel made a statement regarding the events, saying, “After taking over the municipality, our priority was to pay staff salaries. 

For the first three months, we implemented an austerity policy to pay the salaries of municipal personnel. We worked day and night. Because the rights of our laborers are our priority. The issue we value most was for our laborers to receive their salaries. We will, of course, pay the debts remaining from the previous term and the debts owed to tradespeople. We were faced with this situation at a time when we had set up a table to discuss the payment of debts to tradespeople,” he said.

“ATAKUM MUNICIPALITY WILL BE AN EXEMPLARY MUNICIPALITY FOR ALL OF TURKEY”

Stating that the debts will be paid according to a specific plan, Mayor Türkel said the following:

“Due to the financial situation of our municipality, it is not possible to make immediate payments to everyone who is owed a large amount. While the debt in the enforcement file subject to today's lien and seizure process is around 3 million TL, the items in the executive office, which were valued at 42,500 TL, have been seized. The bad faith of the creditors is understood from the fact that they had the seizure decision implemented even though the conversion of this value into cash would not cover their claims in any way.

They are trying to become priority creditors through moral and psychological pressure. Without discriminating against anyone and by observing the public interest, we will create a plan in favor of our tradespeople and pay our debts. It is impossible to forget the principle of continuity in the state. It is sad to encounter this situation at a time when we have started to meet with our tradespeople one-on-one. 

As a mayor elected by the will of the people of Atakum, while observing the public interest, we will also protect the rights of our tradespeople. Both the receivables and the payables of Atakum Municipality belong to the people of Atakum. We will make the most accurate payment plan to protect the reputation of Atakum Municipality. Atakum Municipality will be an exemplary municipality for all of Turkey. I will always work to protect the interests of the people of Atakum and to serve our fellow citizens,” he stated.

News Source: 12punto