All local councils will receive a 4per cent increase in funding this year, Parliamentary Secretary Silvio Parnis said on Tuesday.

Councils will collectively receive some €46 million in funding for the next 12 months.

Addressing a press conference, Mr Parnis said councils would be closely monitored and he expected them to manage the funds responsibly.

"Discipline in how these funds are used is going to be a main priority for us in 2018," he said, adding that the government had recently drafted standard operating procedures councils must follow when using funds.

Some 17 local councils are currently in the red, with the majority being Gozitan.
Mr Parnis said a recent review of councils' finances showed "two or three" were close to breaking even, while a number had "started improving".

Councils spend the majority of their funds on refuse collection and public cleansing. Another major expense, Mr Parnis said, was road maintenance - a cost councils will make some major savings on in the future.

Mr Parnis said the government's electoral pledge to resurface every road in Malta was a "gift" to councils, as they would not have to fork out a single cent of their funding for these works.

And although councils were not paying for the new roads, they will have a say in which need doing first.

"Councils have a part to play in all of this and will be identifying which roads need work the most," he said.