There was quite a ding dong during the latest Plenary Meeting of the Almuñécar Town Council, concerning debt and a property-tax rise (IBI).

The Governing party, supported by its coalition partners, Más Almuñécar and the PA deserter Eva Gaitan, pushed through the raise in the property tax rates for 2016 and 2017. The PA PSOE and IU voted against.

Actually, it is more correct to say that the governing party managed to maintain a rise from last year that was supposed to disappear in 2016; i.e., a 1.1% increase. Therefore, by not dropping the IBI, they have increased it through maintaining it.

There was an acrid exchange between Juan Carlos Benavides, who said that he would like to know what state the municipal accounts are in, which was met by a barrage of sarcastic responses from the governing coalition.

They pointed out that he knew better than anybody else that the municipal coffers are saddled with debt belonging to his period of mayoralty; mostly from illegal urban-development deals, but also belonging to a court sentence concerning a lawyer hired by Sr. Benavides (8m euros)

“Don’t tell me, Sir, because it’s a joke, that you don’t know the real state of this town hall” said Councillor Juan Jose Ruiz Joya.

Finally, it is worth pointing out that the rates rise would not have gone through without the decisive vote of Eva Gaitan in favour. Sra. Gaitan was Number Two in Benavides’ PA party and was even put forward by him as candidate for Mayor in the previous elections. Her defection was a major blow.

On the other hand, her welcoming by the present Mayor into the governing coalition was a mortal blow to the pan-party accord not to permit defectors from any party into a position of responsibility in a governing council.

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