It has always been publicly stated that the recovery and stabilization of the Municipality of Gaia's financial health was not an end in itself, but rather an instrumental element to enable the City Council to design, develop and implement public policies to support and develop the city and its inhabitants, and at the same time to encourage investment. Yes, it would have been possible for the council to speed up the process of financial recovery of its structure. But this would have prevented it from reducing municipal taxes and fees as it has done over the last almost 12 years, at a time when the Portuguese population was still recovering from a crisis, and when any savings in household bills were very important. And if there was one element in which the city was truly a leader, it was precisely in its ability to demonstrate that it is possible to balance public accounts and develop public policies geared towards citizens. In its ability to demonstrate that it is possible to align the sustainable development of a territory with attracting solid investment for the future.
The preconceived notion that associates public spending with wastefulness has been absolutely destroyed by a municipality that has been able to develop exemplary educational and social programs at a national level, and still be among the municipalities with the best financial performance and a trajectory of recovery in terms of municipal debt during these three terms. It is therefore with this legacy that the future of the municipality is projected. A leading city that is designed and drawn on a human scale, based on its needs and expectations. A city that is committed to deepening public policies that improve the competitiveness of its citizens and the territory itself, based on a model of inclusive growth. And a city that is committed to a more sustainable, low-carbon growth model, aligned with the national strategy for carbon neutrality in 2050, through support programs for subsidizing passes for young people up to the age of 23, aiming to endogenize mobility patterns based on public transport for the consumers of the future, but also on a more resilient growth model, of which the local housing strategy or investment in health units are examples.
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