Following a noisy protest in front of the Salobreña Town Hall, the Mayor announces that he will negotiate a U-Turn over the IBI rise.
Hundreds of irate protesters, carrying metal pots and pans – some of whom flowed into the foyer of the building – beat them with rolling pins and other objects to expresses their total rejection of the latest 40% rise in municipal property tax, which added to the recent 10% hike represents a 50% increase. Such is the pulling power of facebook and other social network entities.
According to the Town Council, this increase works out at about 60 euros a year on an average property, but as many pointed out, you can fill your fridge for that amount and lately fridges are seldom full.
The Mayor justified this increase by stating that the extra money would be used to create 200 new jobs, but nobody appears to have been convinced by this logic.
The protesters, who are backed by the local business association and the opposition parties, threatened that they would stage similar protests every Friday until the Mayor gives way, but he appears to have been convinced by the ‘first installment.’
“We have listened to the citizens and other collectives and we have taken note,” he said, adding, “To rectify is the way of the wise and it doesn’t pain me to do so, but I call on everybody’s sense of responsibility to come forward with realistic solutions to put on the negotiation table.”
Consequently, he announced that they would bring a forum into being and activate a “work calender’ this month, leading up to the next Plenary Meeting of the Council, when the IBI increase is to be ratified.
He pointed out that the terms imposed by the Central Government, when indebted town halls accepted funds to pay off local traders and suppliers, were strangling the municipal coffers and would be for the next ten years. This year, he says, Salobreña has to find 700,000 euros to pay of interests on bank loans; a figure that will continue to increase before reaching the two million figure in 2015. Couple that figure to the 12m euros that the town will have to return to the Central Government for the forwarding funds to pay off its debts with local traders, and you have a pretty bleak horizon before you.
The Mayor considers that paying off the banks is the top priority, firstly to prevent the debt from increasing and secondly to stop the Central Government intervening and taking control over the municipal economy should it fail.
As for 2013, he considers that local fiestas will have to go as there will be no funding for them.
Editorial note: The Mayor could always consider giving up or slashing the salaries that he and other councillors receive, together with those of their hand-picked ‘advisers’ – after all, salaries eat up 50% of the town’s total budget.
(News: Salobrena, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia – Photo: Estudios David/Salobreña)