Municipal fees in Gümülcine to remain unchanged for 2026

The Gümülcine Municipal Council approved, by majority vote on Monday, 24 November, the administration’s proposal to keep municipal fees for 2026 at the same level as this year.

Deputy Mayor Stratos Tsakiridis emphasized that despite financial pressures from rising energy costs and other expenses, the municipality chose not to impose any additional burden on citizens.

The decision covers fees related to:

• accommodation tax for temporary visitors
• use of public spaces
• gross revenue fees for food and health businesses
• municipal cemetery fees
• rights of use for municipal properties and infrastructure

A Special Fee Category That Triggered Disagreement

The only point of contention concerned fees for medical and diagnostic centers, for which the administration proposed a special category. The municipal service argued that these facilities impose additional waste management costs.

The proposal included a fee of €7 per square meter for medium-sized facilities, with a 40% discount for buildings over 6,000 m².

However, council members Kleopatra Stogiannidou and Kostas Mainas opposed the measure.
Stogiannidou noted that only three diagnostic centers operate in the region—small, locally owned businesses that cannot be compared to large supermarkets or department stores in scale or turnover.

She argued that the extra charge was unjustified, as diagnostic waste is collected and processed at the regional level under an already-costed management system.

Meeting Observations and Final Decision

During the discussion, council members raised questions about distinctions between small and large businesses, the relevance of business classification codes (KAD), and the square footage of facilities.

The deputy mayor and municipal staff clarified that the new category would apply only to large installations with special licensing, leaving smaller businesses and residential units unaffected.

Ultimately:

• The general freeze on municipal fees was approved by majority.
• The special fee increase for medical diagnostic centers was rejected, with opposition parties and Stogiannidou voting against it.