Limassol Mayor Yiannis Armeftis has confirmed he will not pay a €43,000 invoice from Police for security services during the city’s main carnival parade.
Armeftis added the municipality has already paid a separate €2,000 bill for policing the children’s carnival event.
“I will not pay the €43,000 invoice for the main carnival parade,” Armeftis told Phileleftheros on Thursday, adding that he had already communicated this decision to the Minister of Justice, who reportedly assured him that police security would continue to be provided regardless.
The mayor disclosed that the municipality had previously received and paid a €2,000 invoice for police services during the children’s carnival parade. “We accepted and paid that charge because the parade involved children and we wanted to ensure everything proceeded smoothly,” Armeftis explained.
However, he emphasised that the larger invoice for the main parade presents significant budgetary challenges. “This amount cannot be easily paid because it was not budgeted for,” he stated, noting that the confusion could have been avoided if police authorities had informed the municipality about this decision in advance.
The mayor suggested openness to discussing future policing charges but expressed frustration with the timing of the announcement. “If the police want to charge for events, we can discuss it, but this decision should not have been announced just days before the main carnival parade. There should have been prior consultation,” Armeftis said.
Neither the Justice Ministry nor police headquarters have issued formal statements regarding the mayor’s refusal to pay or how this might affect security arrangements for future public events in Limassol.
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