The Sliema local council said today has not paid for electricity bills running into tens of thousands of euros for public places, such as gardens and the promenade, which are owned by the Lands Authority.

In a statement on Monday, the council said that in retaliation, electricity supply to some areas had been cut off, shutting down public water fountains. 

The council said that over the past years, it had received a number of ARMS bills for areas that had never been passed on to the council. The titleholder of such spaces, it said, was the Lands Authority.

The council had stopped paying these bills in 2019. 

While the Department for Local Government had stated  that such payments were not the council's responsibility, in line with the Local Government Act, the Lands Authority had confirmed there had never been any land devolution of these areas in favour of the council.

"The council maintains that the titleholder of such public land  - the Lands Authority - should be responsible for the payment of the bills, and not the local council. This position is supported by the Local Councils Association," it said. 

The council noted that at the end of last month, the council decided, as a "sign of goodwill", to pay the amount due for the accounts that had been transferred to it. However, this was the last time it was going to settle the bill, and in the meantime, it will request the Lands Authority to take ownership of the accounts. 

In recent months it had received bills amounting to €120,000 - well beyond the council's budget. 

The council called on the government to find a solution.