Despite the “positive signals” contained in the 2026 Budget Law, the Anci (National Association of Italian Municipalities) expresses its concerns: the still unresolved financial critical issues risk compromising the ability of Municipalities to guarantee fundamental services to citizens and to carry out planned investments.
For this reason, the mayors are asking for an urgent meeting with the Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti, in order to discuss corrective interventions and additional resources for security, housing, welfare and local transport.
Maneuver 2026, the alarm from the Anci
The main point of friction remains current spending, still burdened by cuts and provisions resulting from previous Budget Laws. According to ANCI estimates, the overall impact amounts to approximately 2.08 billion euros until 2029, with a further expected contraction of 460 million euros in 2026.
A burden which, the mayors explain, “makes the daily management of the Municipalities difficult” and risks resulting in a slowdown in local services and investments.
The emergencies of Italian municipalities
The main concerns concern the increase in costs for assistance to disabled people, for whom there is a lack of adequate resources for the complexity of the interventions. And the difficulties linked to the management of municipal nursery schools are increasingly greater. Not to mention the situation of local public transport “which is seriously suffering due to the increase in energy costs, especially in small and medium-sized municipalities”. Then there is the question of the tourist tax: the ANCI asks that the related revenue continue to finance the costs deriving from tourist flows, without being diverted elsewhere.
Security and home
On the front of security and the right to housing, the ANCI denounces the total silence of the Government. The mayors are calling for the doubling of the National Fund for Urban Security to allow new hiring of local police personnel, even in derogation, and thus fill the gaps accumulated in recent years.
On the topic of living, the launch of a new housing plan with direct financing, flexible projects and a national framework law that simplifies bureaucratic procedures is called for. Furthermore, the association is asking for an ad hoc rule for the Roma Capitale equalization fund, a topic that has been postponed several times but still unresolved.
The positive signals in the Maneuver according to Anci
However, some positive elements of the Maneuver text are recognized in the document approved by the Anci Board of Directors. Among these:
- a reduction in the Doubtful Credit Fund, a historic request from the Municipalities;
- the increase in the fund for Italian minors to 250 million euros;
- the stabilization of the Summer Centers fund for 60 million;
- the allocation of 500 million euros for the “Dedicated to you” card, also extended for 2026 and 2027;
- a fund for municipal staff equal to 50 million in 2027 and 100 million in 2028 for the 2025-2027 contract renewal.
- On this last point, however, the ANCI specifies that it is “only a first step”: the overall adjustment of the ancillary treatment of municipal staff would require over one and a half billion euros, a figure that the Municipalities are not able to support independently.
The Anci Board of Directors comments thus:
“All the questions posed are in line with the motion approved unanimously by the Chamber on the needs of the Municipalities. We must therefore continue a real discussion with structural solutions to guarantee the sustainability of local budgets and the quality of services to citizens”.
