The Town Council is going to dedicate most of the extra cash obtained from the 10% rise in municipal property tax to pay off municipal debt.
The fact is that they either do that or start cutting back on basic social services, etc.
That, in a nutshell, is what the 2016 Municipal Budget, fixed this year at 33m euros and just approved, boils down to.
This new budget is the first approved since the 2013 one, which was just one-million euros less. The reason that one hasn’t been carried out in the interim is because the conservative ruling party has been governing with a minority. When the PA councillor, Eva Gaitan, defected to the ruling party’s coalition, they finally obtained a majority and thus could knock out a budget to their own liking.
So, how much does the town owe? The answer is a ‘tidy’ thirty-eight million euros, which works out at about 1,500 euros for every man, woman and child in the municipality.
On the one hand you have the governing party placing the blame firmly on the doorstep of ex-Mayor, Juan Carlos Benavides, whilst on the other you have the former blaming the present mayor, Trinidad Herrera for her ‘bumbling’ handling of the local economy.
Well, whoever caused it, it has to be paid, which is why the 2016 budget has 1.658,000 euros earmarked to pay off interest on the amount owed.
…Which brings us on to how much is spent on salaries! This expense is the largest one, totally a whopping 11m euros, thanks to the nine new firemen in the municipal fire service.
Fiestas soak up a fair chunk, more so this year because electrical installations have to replaced, adding a further 40,000 euros to this section. On this point the opposition party, IU, have expressed criticism, stating that it is ridiculous to spend so much on fiestas in these difficult times.
The IU also expressed criticism over the expense of maintaining the Aquarium and the Peña Escrita mountain park, which both run at a loss – 10,000 euros has been set aside for the upkeep of the creatures in these installations.
What else? Social services have two million alloted and the local employment scheme has one million, for providing temporary work to those locals who have suffered long-term unemployment.
And that’s it, in essence.
(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)