The president of Sindmóveis, Cátia Scarton, took part in a debate with Guilherme Pasin, the Mayor of Bento Gonçalves, last Monday, March 11. The meeting, organized by the Center of Industry, Retail and Service of Bento Gonçalves (CIC), brought together the presidents of the main associations of the city and each of them had the opportunity to ask the mayor a question.    The president of Sindmóveis pointed out the difficulties encountered to approve projects for the expansion and creation of new manufacturing companies set by the Institute of Research and Urban Planning (Ipurb). In response, Pasin said that the city’s Master Plan, established in 2006, will be updated. He said that in the coming months, the associations will be invited to discuss the necessary improvements. The mayor assured that the new Master Plan will include the expansion of industrial areas to meet the needs of the furniture industry.   About the delay in the approval of the projects by Ipurb, the mayor admitted that the evaluation system of the processes needs to be reviewed and that the delay often occurs during the licensing period, which is done by the Municipal Environment Department and not by Ipurb. Pasin signals that the processes can be unified into a single department of the city government to expedite the authorizations. "We are reviewing all the systematization of Ipurb to establish deadlines to receive and analyze the applications. This week two technicians were hired for the environmental licensing department, which isn’t enough since we have several processes piled up in this area," he says.   The city government has recently requested Fepam to expand the municipal environmental licensing, which is now run partially because it depends on the State endorsement to approve the projects. "I will not accept, under any circumstances, to lose companies based in Bento Gonçalves due to lengthy public administration or lack of areas when they have been regulated," said the mayor.   Sindmóveis has maintained close contact with the Mayor and the City Council in order to participate in all debates that may affect the industrial activity of Bento Gonçalves, especially the furniture sector.