Spending czar Carlo Cottarelli
said Wednesday that Italy has too many municipalities, boosting
costs unnecessarily.
Rewarding towns and cities that amalgamate services would
reduce expenses, he said on the same day Premier Matteo Renzi
introduces his 2015 budget.
"Eight thousand municipalities are too many, you should
think about a reduction that makes it easier to coordinate,"
Cottarelli told a parliamentary hearing.
Offering fiscal rewards for towns and city that choose to
share services or amalgamate would provide incentives, he said.
Cottarelli, who confirmed his plans to resign later this
month, has previously called for consolidation of many municipal
services to cut duplication.
He told the hearing that his proposals for consolidation
initially drew some interest from the premier's office but more
recently, seem to have fallen from the government's agenda.
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