It seems as though the districts of Samara and Nosara will have to make due with a low road maintenance budget next year, as they will have to share 48 million colones ($85,000) allocated by the Municipality of Nicoya.

The funds have been established by the Municipality, protected by the Tributary Simplification and Efficiency Law 8114; which governs how the national fuel tax is assigned to local road maintenance. Conforming to the regulations of this Law, the Municipal Council and the cantonal road board establish the assignment of these resources. That does not include funds set aside for paving the main road, Route 160, which comes from a loan to the national government.

The Municipal Council approved and sent the budget, which doesn’t have to be spent only on roads, to the General Finance Office of the Republic for ratification. In Sámara, ¢2.500.000 ($4,425) was budgeted to the community of Santo Domingo for the purchase of ceramics for the community hall; while the Association of Development of Sámara will be able to work with ¢4 million ($7,000) that was assigned to it for the purchase of two washing machines and industrial driers. In San Fernando, they will have ¢1.8 million ($3,185) to put a roof on the communal hall.

With respect to road maintenance and rehabilitation in Nosara, ¢23 million ($40,700) has been allotted. There will be 800 thousand colones ($1400) for the road to Pelada beach, and ¢4 million ($7080) is assigned to the road between the plaza and Arenales. The highest budget is for the rehabilitation and drainage construction of the Zaragoza-Nosara pass, which is ¢10 million ($17,700). ¢4.6 million ($8150) is destined for the twice yearly maintenance of the road between downtown Nosara and Santa Teresita; while the road between Garza and Las Delicias will have ¢2.6 million ($4600) and the pass from Ostional to Los Angeles will receive ¢2.5 million ($4425).

The police delegation of Nosara will also have a turn of ¢700 thousand ($1240) in materials for building improvements. In 2010, the streets of Sámara will see machinery, others will not. Therefore, the crossing from Hotel la Estancia to Santa Teresita there will be ¢3 million ($5300) for the maintenance of that street; in Matapalo to Santo Domingo ¢2.7 million ($4780), in Terciopelo-Chinampas ¢3 million ($5300) and between Silencio and Pueblo Nuevo ¢7.5 million ($13,275).

The Voice of Nosara attempted to obtain a statement from Mayor Luis Eduardo Guiterez in reference to the scarce budget assigned to Samara and Nosara, but last week ending on November 20th he, the president of City Council Mary Light Gómez, and councilwoman Karen Espinoza were representing City Hall in Miami.

Property Tax Income 2010

Councilman José Antonio Méndez, who represents the district of Nosara on the Nicoya Municipal Council, declared he is concerned about Nosara getting its proper share of the future allocation of revenue from local property taxes, a matter that is separate from the distribution of funds from the national gas tax.
He said that city hall anticipates collecting some ¢180 million ($318,580) out of ¢275 million ($486,725) that is the estimated amount of local property tax owed for next year. The law provides a formula for returning 60% of property taxes to localities where they are generated.

"According to that formula, they should invest at least some ¢107 million ($292,035) in this district; according to what the municipal law establishes, which would be 60% of what was collected," explained the councilman.