On Wednesday Gruppo 25 Aprile and Venezia Cambia, as well as the Craftsmen’s Association, AEPE, AVA and ACI were heard regarding the fee
13 February 2019
Citizens’ groups were at Ca’ Farsetti on Wednesday, attending the meeting of the Council’s commission that is evaluating the entrance fee to Venice. Gruppo 25 Aprile, with their spokesman Dario Vianello, and Venezia Cambia with Marco Zanetti, were at the table together with the Craftsmen’s Association, AVA (the Hoteliers association), AEPE (representing bars and restaurants), and ACI (representing transportation).
“A Trade”
“Hearing Commissioner Zuin’s statements – writes 25 Aprile – we see what amounts to a trade: that which we’ll see given up in funding from the special law in exchange for a specific fee, with the resulting impossibility of using these vital resources, for example, for housing policy. Commissioner Zuin, in open council, has also stated that “Venice is an open air museum”. As a civic platform that has fought for 5 years for Venice’s future as a living city, we denounce this vision which is in our opinion distorted. We also ask why, while addressing a fee that is supposed to function as a mechanism for regulating the flow of entries to the city, only the Budget Commissioner, Michele Zuin, is present at the discussion, while the Tourism Commissioner, Paola Mar, is absent from the debate”.
Amendments
The group furthermore proposed substantial modifications to the text of the resolution, in particular asking the City to “exempt from payment of the fee Venetians who are on the AIRE list (Registry of Italians Resident in Foreign Countries), journalists (either professionals or publicists) working for their respective publications, ans clients or customers with appointments in professional studios or public offices. The request was also made to specify that residents will not be asked for self-certification of any kind, and that the presentation of an identity card will be sufficient. Finally it was requested that during days of low traffic, in the parlance of the city’s scheme “bollino verde”, that the fee be reduced to zero.
The Commissions
By the end of February the Council Commissions need to sketch out the substance of the provision, which is scheduled to be in effect in the period immediately following. The question of the ZTL for the Ponte della Libertà remains up in the air, “but – stated 25 Aprile – we will hardly see other cities benefit from similar resources: the occupancy tax, the entrance fee, the Casino, the additions to ACTV tickets for non-residents, the pact for Venice and the funds for the suburbs: the total could exceed 150 million per year”.
Source: Venezia Today
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