Time taken by borough councils to settle accounts is invariably highlighted when excessive, but a new report has just shown how prompt some Algarve councils can be. Indeed, for suppliers and service companies, it could be used as a guide to avoid unnecessary anguish.
So, top of the list are three of the region’s most rural boroughs: Alcoutim – where bills are paid “practically on the spot”, Aljezur (where they are paid within an average of five days) and Monchique (within six).
But shining among these is the urban municipality of Lagoa which, despite its location in the thick of the touristic hurly-burly, still manages to pay suppliers and service providers within an average of three days of receiving invoices.
This “good news story” comes from the annual financial report of Portugal’s municipalities for 2016.
Predictably, there are the ‘no-no’s’, the councils which companies wouldn’t want to do business with unless they had won the lottery.
These perennially include Portimão – recently hauled out of excessive debt with massive State funding – where despite of newfound relative financial buoyancy the time taken between receipt of invoice and payment averages out at … more than three years (1,290 days to be exact).
Putting this into as good a perspective as one can, oalgarve website reminds its readers that three years ago, the Barlavento Algarve municipality took even longer to pay its bills: an average of 4,628 days. In case you are no good at maths, that translates into 12.67 years.
Other Algarve ‘bandidos’ when it comes to settling accounts are Vila do Bispo council (strangely voted Council of the Year this year … see separate story) which takes an average of 208 days, and Vila Real de Santo António, 120 days.
With municipal elections ‘round the corner’ (October 1), these pithy details will either hugely help returning mayors, or do exactly the opposite.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
