Bensafrim Parish Assembly July 17, 2026
POINT 2 – Draft Regulation for the Use and Lending of Vehicles of the Bensafrim Parish Council
The Movement Lakes with Future recognizes the importance of the existence of a regulation that regulates the use and transfer of vehicles belonging to the Bensafrim Parish Council, for considering that the management of public assets must be based on clear rules, transparent and equal for all potential users.
However, we understand that the draft regulation submitted today for consideration by this Assembly does not fully guarantee these principles, reason why our voting will be unfavorable.
Right away, the regulation gives the executive a high degree of discretion in assessing transfer requests, often resorting to vague concepts such as “public interest”, “exceptional cases” or “needs of the municipality”, without defining objective criteria that make it possible to assess when these situations occur or how they are weighed in relation to the remaining applications.
On the other hand, there is no mechanism for publicizing decisions. The regulation does not require periodic disclosure of beneficiary entities, of usage dates, of the vehicles transferred or the reasons for the decisions taken, making it difficult to publicly scrutinize the use of an asset that belongs to the community.
We also did not find sufficiently clear rules regarding the resolution of situations in which there are competing requests, the regulation is limited to establishing a generic priority order, without defining objective tiebreaker criteria when there are several entities with equal legitimacy or interest.
We also consider that the regulation should provide for specific rules regarding impediments and conflicts of interest, ensuring that members of the executive or directors of requesting entities do not participate in decisions that may directly concern them, thus reinforcing citizens' confidence in the impartiality of the process.
Another relevant gap is the lack of public accountability mechanisms. The regulation does not provide for the preparation of an annual report on the use of vehicles, identifying the number of transfers made, the beneficiary entities, the costs borne by the Parish Council and the effective use of this public asset. Transparency in the management of public resources would recommend the existence of this information instrument.
Furthermore, the regulation does not establish clear deadlines for considering applications or for communicating decisions to applicants., which can create situations of uncertainty for associations and other entities that depend on the use of vehicles to carry out their activities.
The Lagos com Futuro Movement understands that this regulation constitutes a working basis, but needs to be improved, reinforcing the principles of equality, of transparency, objectivity and accountability in the use of public assets belonging to the parish.
For the reasons explained, and although we recognize the usefulness of the existence of a regulation of this nature, We consider that the document presented does not yet meet the necessary conditions to ensure fully transparent management, impartial and scrutinizable of Parish Council vehicles.
In these terms, the Lagos com Futuro Movement votes against the Draft Regulation for the Use and Lending of Vehicles of the Bensafrim Parish Council.