The budget for the Municipality of Famalicão for 2026 was approved on the morning of Monday, 16 January, amounting to €256 million, the largest budget in the history of the Famalicão local authority. The document was approved with the votes of the six councillors from the Mais Ação, Mais Famalicão - PSD/CDS-PP coalition, and the abstention of the four councillors from the Socialist Party and the Chega councillor.
In addition to the overall €256 million, this budget also provides for a record investment of more than €106 million, driven by the municipality's enormous capacity to attract funding. ‘It is a budget that matches the enormous ambition we have for Vila Nova de Famalicão, very challenging and demanding, with intervention in different areas, works that will be delivered to the people of Famalicão and thereby improve everyone's living conditions,’ said Mayor Mário Passos at the end of the meeting.
The Major Options of the Plan and Budget of the Famalicão local authority provide for heavy investment in priority areas for the future of the municipality and its residents, such as housing, health and education, but with a high degree of "balance that reflects a management model based on rigour and sound public accounts, well planned and well founded, without compromising municipal finances or the future of coming generations".
In the message, he signs at the beginning of the document, the mayor of Famalicão points to 2026 as a ‘landmark year’ for Vila Nova de Famalicão due to the completion of various projects and interventions currently underway. "Last year, we began a significant set of interventions that will soon begin to make a difference in the daily lives of the people of Famalicão. These are structural investments, the implementation of which is guaranteed in this municipal budget," adds the mayor.
This is the case in Health, with seven new and renovated Family Health Units – CDP in Famalicão, Urbana (Vila Nova de Famalicão), Nine, Lousado, Ruivães/Landim, Joane and São Miguel-o-Anjo. In housing, the local authority will continue the process of building affordable rental housing in 2026. In education, it is worth noting the ongoing investments in the municipality's school facilities, such as the refurbishment and expansion of the Pe. Benjamim Salgado Secondary School, the interventions in the Senador Sousa Fernandes, Brufe and Seide Primary Schools, and the preparation of future interventions in the municipality's EB23 schools. In the area of the environment, investments in the completion of the water supply network in Vale São Cosme, Telhado and Portela, the construction of the new Pelhe Park and the expansion of Sinçães Park are noteworthy. In sports, highlights include the construction of the Athletics Centre, the launch of the public tender for the construction of new 50-metre municipal swimming pools, and the renovation of the future Riba de Ave Municipal Pavilion, among other achievements.
For the mayor, 2026 will be the year in which ‘we will continue to pave the way for the future we have planned for Vila Nova de Famalicão, which was widely supported by the people of Famalicão at the polls.’ He adds ‘With this Plan and Budget, we are making the present a reality and opening the doors to more future.’
