Salobreña is set to spend half of its 2012 budget on personnel salaries. Not surprisingly, the opposition have their teeth into this, as it is a juicy political morsel.

Up until now, the present municipal administration under Mayor Pulido has been operating off the extended budget of the previous administration under conservative mayor, Mendéndez, so this is the first time that the socialists have had a chance to knock up their own, tailor-made budget. The result is one that amounts to 11,044,000 euros, which is 27,000 more than the previous one.

Now, at a time when just about every public administration from town halls up to the central government is producing ‘austerity’ budgets, the Salobreña decision to bring out one that is even bigger than the previous one has attracted flak, to say the least.

Of those 11m euros, 5.8m will be fon salaries for everybody down from the Mayor to the gardener’s mate. The recent decision to take on even more staff had the IU leader, Sr. Coello blowing smoke rings without the aid of a cigarette. With these two additions the amount of people that receive full or part-time salaries for their public duties is twelve, costing the municipal taxpayers just under 400,000 euros per annum. The two extra salaries have gone to a councillor and the new post of Police Co-ordinator.

Perhaps what really has the opposition hopping mad is that all the salaried councillor jobs belong to just one party – they Mayor’s. Perhaps if it were spread around the other parties, our dear councillors would not be so concerned about how much these salaries are costing the good folk of Salobreña, or are we just too cynical for our own good?

So how much is the Mayor and his merry band of councillors earning… whilst 1,600 locals are without work? Easy! The Mayor earns just under 3,000 euros a month, bless him, while the councillors get 1,750 euros… how on earth do they get by?

There’s not much point in going into further detail; who gets what and for doing what, because the mere fact that half the budget for a town goes on salaries is enough to make even the most unconcerned amongst us realise that the gravy boat will one day go down with all hands, dragged under by the weight of its own greedy cargo.

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