Senate strips LMD of funds

[NewsWhore]

The Dominican Senate has approved a bill that will create the Participative Municipal Budget (PPM) and the Code that relieves the Dominican Municipal League (LMD) of its role in administering the funding of all the country's municipalities. The first bill now goes to the executive for signing or further amendments. The bill that removes the funds from LMD control will return to the Chamber of Deputies. The idea of the PPM is to increase citizen participation in the process of creating local city budgets. The Municipal Code that was approved by the Senate allows for the municipalities to receive their budget money directly from the National Treasury and not through the LMD. As a result, the LMD would function as an advisory group for the city councils. If the bill becomes law, an assembly of mayors will decide how much money the LMD should get for its consulting activities. The chief officer of the LMD is the PRSC party's presidential candidate.

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