Vélez-Málaga Town Hall will hold a Plenary Meeting this Thursday to approve salary increases for the Town Council members.
The Town Council, which is run by a PSOE/GIPMTM coalition, has used the salary-increase permitted within the Ley de Presupuestos for the public sector, so that the Mayor (whose salary was reduced in 2015 owing to the economic crisis by 3,704 euros) will now receive 63,837 euros annually divided into 14 monthly payments. Yes, 14, as in July and December public workers get double monthly salaries.
The ten councillors on full-time salaries will get 40,000 euros annually – in 2015 it was 36,316 euros. Party Spokespersons will now receive full-time salaries for the same amount as the coucillors.
Don’t forget that all these politicians also receive expenses on top for attending Town-Council meetings. This expense money has gone up from 350 euros per meeting to 600. Expense money for turning up at commission meetings goes up from 350 to 450 euros.
But that’s not all because the Mayor has decided that vice-mayors who were not full-time employed (Jesús Pérez Atencia and David Vilches, both belonging to the GIPMTM) can now get up to 3,500 euros a month from the public coffers.
The Councillor for Citizen Safety, socialist José María Domínguez, who is on a part-time salary can now draw up to 2,000 euros per month. Councillors from the opposition parties with no posts can now receive up to 1,600 euros a month for turning up for council meetings.
According to the municipal accountant, without including Social Security payments, this all amounts up to 543,837 euros. These payments surpass the amount allowed for the 2019 budget (which still hasn’t even been approved anyway) by 112,153 euros. The 2018 Budget dedicated only 431,683 euros to salaries.
But it goes on because the Mayor has decided to keep on the 22 Personas de Confianza (non-politicians hired in an advisory capacity). Four of these ‘advisors’ received 50,942 euros annually, the Head of the Press Depart received 37,145 euros per annum…. etc.
Editorial comment: There are people queueing up for food handouts who have never done it before, not even during the hardest years of the 2008 financial crisis. These are people that are not allowed to work yet fall between the cracks when it comes to receiving public assistance. Restaurateurs have no idea how they are going to make it through the year… and yet, these people, think it’s a good time to raise their salaries…
Do these people even come from the same planet as those that are paying their salaries?