Brescia Court Removes Villanuova Mayor Over Medical Practice Conflict
The Civil Court of Brescia has declared the mayor of Villanuova, Bortolo Belli, as no longer holding his position. The reason is linked to the mayor’s profession as an orthopedic surgeon at the nearby Gavardo hospital, which falls within the area of jurisdiction also overseen by the municipality he governs.
Judgment and Motives
The verdict was reached following a legal proceeding initiated by a fellow citizen of the mayor, a member of the opposition, who was an unsuccessful candidate on the “Per Villanuova sul Clisi” list in last year’s election, when this group attempted, without success, to oppose the center-left coalition led by Belli.
Now, the court has supported the argument presented by this citizen, namely that there is an incompatibility between the two roles: that of mayor and that of a doctor working in a public facility within the same territorial area.
The decision came as a shock to Belli and his governing council. “Because — it is argued — at the time, we had received conflicting and reassuring indications from the Prefecture regarding this matter”.
Intervention of the Prefecture and Legal Interpretations
In a letter sent to both the mayor and the petitioner, the prefect reminded them that more recent regulations “outlined a new and more autonomous configuration of the Local Health Unit, transforming it into an instrumental body of the Region, endowed with legal personality, and with organizational, administrative, patrimonial, accounting, managerial, and technical autonomy”. This significantly reduced the grounds for ineligibility related to positions such as general director, administrative, and health manager.
Therefore — the prefect’s letter added — according to the stance expressed by the Ministry of the Interior, there has been a tacit repeal of the legal provisions that listed causes of ineligibility and incompatibility connected to the previous, no longer current organization of the Local Health Units.
Judges’ Position and Consequences
Clearly, this interpretation was not shared by the Brescia judges, who issued, as mentioned, the ruling that condemns the mayor of Villanuova to lose his position.
This ruling could lead to new elections scheduled for the upcoming months, provided it is upheld on appeal.
The mayor and the council immediately began working with their legal team to prepare a appeal, mainly based on two points: the authoritative opinion already cited from the prefect, which is based on the Ministry of the Interior’s stance; and the fact that Belli is not, as the law specifies, an employee of the Azienda Ospedaliera.
Villanuova officials add an additional point. “According to this unexpected interpretation of the law, not only mayors but also professional medical assessors, employees or contractors, and consequently even general practitioners, would be incompatible with these roles.”
“How many Italian municipalities — he concludes — would lose their administrators, and at what cost in terms of money and intellect?”