The words of the president of the Municipality’s board of auditors provoke a reaction from the company that deals with the urban hygiene service in Latina. The ABC board of directors provides its clarifications
“The Board of Directors of the ABC Special Company deems it appropriate to provide an update on the state of the Company and, in particular, on the profiles inherent to the budget result, also in order to contribute to correct and complete information of the citizens, in light of some untruthful representations that have emerged on several occasions in the public debate.
First of all, it must be clarified that the first draft of the 2024 budget was drawn up in full compliance with current legislation and the accounting principles applicable to Special Companies, on the basis of the deeds and decisions in force at the time of its preparation, and did not present any irregularities or errors, unlike what was reported in some press articles which also reflected statements made in recent institutional contexts.
The subsequent reformulation of the budget, which occurred following City Council resolution no. 78 of 28 November 2025, became necessary exclusively as a result of the reduction in the fee paid to ABC for the service provided to the Municipality of Latina in the year 2024. This reduction was formalized on 3 December 2025 through the signing of the contractual amendment, which had already been arranged by the City Council with resolution no. 54 of 31 July 2025. All the documents referred to occurred after the first draft of the 2024 company budget which, therefore, could not incorporate them as it had to “correctly” rely on the documents in force at the time of its preparation.
With reference to the observations circulated regarding the alleged impossibility for a Special Company to achieve positive economic results, it is specified that, pursuant to the current art. 33 of the company statute “the financial statements close, in accordance with the law, at breakeven or with an operating profit”.
Any operating profit does not have the nature of a profit, as it cannot be distributed and must be entirely allocated to maintaining the economic-financial balance of the Company, improving services and, where necessary, covering previous losses. The achievement of a positive economic result therefore represents an index of correct management and sustainability, in the interest of the community and the citizens who finance the service through the TARI.
In this regard, it is considered appropriate to specify that the sums paid by the Municipality of Latina to ABC for the waste collection service represented approximately half of the overall costs included in the TARI 2024, while the remaining part refers to other expenditure components of the tariff and management system.
It is considered useful to provide some clarifications now also in relation to the budget for the 2025 financial year, now imminently closing, in order to avoid incorrect interpretations of the expected economic result. The economic-financial estimates project a positive operating result, not originating from discretionary choices of the Company adopted in defiance of the principle of break-even, but rather from an explicit request for rationalization of services requested by the Municipality, as well as from contingent and supervening circumstances compared to original budget forecasts.
Specifically, in the forecasting phase, higher personnel costs were hypothesized in connection with the expected renewal of the sector’s National Collective Labor Agreement, which was believed to be likely to have an impact as early as the beginning of 2025. The subsequent decisions taken at national level instead established a different temporal structure of the salary increases, the effects of which will begin to take effect from the 2026 and 2027 financial years; this therefore caused a lower impact on personnel costs compared to that initially estimated.
The economic result of 2025 is therefore the consequence of a correct and prudent budget setting, in full compliance with the principles of economic-financial balance that regulate the management of special companies, on which subsequent events not dependent on the Company’s will have positively impacted.
Lastly, it is necessary to highlight the current phase of provisional management in which the Company operates, characterized by the absence of policy documents, awaiting approval by the Municipality of Latina of the fundamental documents provided for by the Company Statute and current legislation. This condition significantly limits the Company’s ability to plan and implement investments and improvement interventions, with inevitable repercussions on the urban hygiene service.
In this perspective, pending the completion of the administrative process (started with resolution of the City Council no. 73 of 28 October 2025), which will lead to the definitive adoption of the new Industrial Plan and the consequent programmatic acts, the door-to-door collection service (PAP) for non-domestic users (UND) of the center can only be launched – as it cannot be further deferred. This intervention is considered strategic for the purposes of reducing the quantities of undifferentiated waste, the consequent containment of disposal costs and the increase in contributions recognized by the supply chain consortia, with overall benefits for the waste management system and for the community.
In line with these assumptions, the new Industrial Plan that will be prepared by the ABC Special Company identifies a path of progressive improvement of services in the area, aimed at increasing the percentages of separate waste collection, improving urban decor and optimizing service management costs.
The collaboration of citizens represents an essential element for maintaining urban decorum, through correct use of the services made available, including the bulky waste collection service specifically activated to avoid abandonment in the area.
It is considered appropriate to point out that the Board of Directors of the ABC Special Company is made up of professionals who have chosen to make themselves available to the City of Latina by receiving only an attendance fee of 30 euros per session, taking time away from their professional activities and private life. The entire sum accrued through attendance fees during the two years of activity was entirely donated for the purchase of the Christmas gift intended for the company’s workers, as a concrete sign of attention, gratitude and recognition for the daily commitment made in carrying out the service.
For its part, the Board of Directors will continue to work to guarantee the efficiency of services and the pursuit of corporate objectives in the interest of the community”.
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