Sofia, Bulgaria — The Sofia Municipal Council (SMC) is convening for an extraordinary meeting to discuss a matter of critical importance for the city's financial stability. At the center of the agenda is a key decision that will give "the green light" to Mayor Vasil Terziev to initiate the selection of a new financial institution to service the municipality's funds. This gathering is necessary after a series of events that have called into question the management of municipal finances.
The Sofia Municipality administration has already announced an urgent public procurement with the goal of quickly finding a "temporary" bank. The parameters of this procurement are strictly defined, with the goal of ensuring a smooth transition. The contract with the selected financial institution will be in effect until the completion of a subsequent, longer-term procedure that will select a bank for years to come. Alternatively, the agreement will be terminated upon the depletion of the financial resource allocated for this procurement, amounting to 2.5 million levs. The maximum term of this temporary contract cannot exceed 5 years, regardless of which of the two conditions occurs first.
Despite the urgency of the situation, which has worsened sharply, the process is not going smoothly. At the end of July, Mayor Terziev submitted a report aimed at starting the procedure for selecting a new servicing bank. However, the proposal was blocked at a meeting of the finance committee. The decision to halt the procedure was made by municipal councilor from PP Blagovesta Kenarova, which raised questions about the coordination between the municipal administration and the various political groups in the council.
The tension escalated just a few days later, when the bank serving the municipality until that point announced its desire to unilaterally terminate its contracts with the local government. This move, especially in the context of previous obstacles to selecting a new bank, created additional uncertainty. Now, with the scheduling of an extraordinary meeting, the SMC must address this critical situation and ensure the continuity of the capital's financial operations. The heavy atmosphere of responsibility could be felt in the meeting hall as councilors prepared to make a decision that will have direct consequences for the management of millions of levs in municipal funds.