Almuñécar’s 2018 Budget was approved towards the end of last month but only at an initial level and already well behind schedule.

The new municipal budget for this year amounts to exactly 36,777,878.60 euros. The Board for the Elderly will is allotted just under 60,000 and the Boards for Tourism and Sports will be allotted 280,000 and 284,000, respectively.

As for personnel, there are 122 public functionaries and 102 temporary workers.

At the Plenary Meeting where the budget received its initial approval the opposition leader, Fermín Tejero (IU) pointed out that the budget should have been presented for approval eight months ago.

He also asked the Municipal Treasurer how the governing party aimed to find the 18m euros that has to be returned to developers whose projects never saw the light of day owing to the crisis, not to mention the repayment of sums owed to banks for loans.

Finally he called for the dissolution of municipal companies, such as Tropical Televisión, Almuñécar Turística and Tropical Fruits, which ceased to function over 20 years ago.

The Spokesman for the CA (Benavides’s party) Manuel Juárez said that a municipal budget is the same as a family one; first you have to pay the mortgage, the bills and for family needs, and only then you can think about trips and fiestas.

The Spokesman for the PSOE, Pablo Ruiz pointed out that after seven years of government with a absolute majority, the PP had only managed to approve the 2013, 2016 and 2018 budgets. He also criticised the level of tax pressure on the residents of Almuñécar and La Herradura with the increase of 30% on IBI (local property tax).

The Mayor pointed out that when she came to power the municipality was carrying a debt worth 42 million which her government had managed to bring down to 28 million in 2016 and according to the figures for 2017, which are still being compiled, it should be down to 16 million.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)