RIGA, Jun 3 (LETA) - Today, Gints Kaminskis, chairman of the Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments (LPS), informed Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs (United List) about the previous government's decisions that resulted in higher expenses and a decrease in revenues for local governments, the association's spokeswoman Liene Uzule told LETA.

Kaminskis said that in recent years, local governments have been saving their funds and streamlining budget expenditures, which has been significantly influenced by decisions made by the government and the Saeima.

This has reduced the municipal budgets revenues and created additional expenses, as the government delegated new functions without providing funding, Kaminskis told the prime minister.

He noted that problems in the general government budget should not be solved at the expense of municipalities, for instance, by ministries shifting their responsibilities to local governments without providing the necessary resources.

According to Uzule, Kulbergs showed understanding of these issues and agreed that every year, more and more functions are unjustifiably delegated to local governments, while the necessary resources are not available to them.

The prime minister acknowledged that the functions and the resulting bureaucratic burden on local governments should be jointly reviewed and called for concrete proposals.

The meeting also addressed the state and maintenance of roads. Currently, funding for municipal roads is insufficient. European funds and investments in the rehabilitation of transit roads are also declining, LPS stressed.

At the same time, LPS pointed out, the persistent problems with financing and accessibility of public transport services, which affect schoolchildren transport, and residents' ability to reach health care and other institutions, need to be resolved urgently.

At the end of the discussion, the prime minister called for close cooperation, considering LPS' proposal for future work, including addressing the challenges of municipal spatial planning and the existing problematic situations in this area.