The Los Realejos City Council approved this Wednesday the budget proposal for 2024 with the favorable votes of the Popular Party (PP) government group, led by its mayor, Adolfo González, and the vote against the municipal group of the PSOE and abstention of the Canarian Coalition (CC). The Councilor for Finance, Aránzazu Domínguez, defended a budget balance of 37,956,385.46 euros, which represents an increase of 2,942,716 euros compared to the figures for the 2023 financial year, an increase of 8.40%.
Adolfo González emphasized that, “once the budget containment has been overcome, with a specific decrease in 2021 in the context of the pandemic, if we take as a reference the accounts of 30,384,621.37 euros from 2019, just six financial years ago, “The Los Realejos City Council has increased its accounts by 7.5 million euros, which represents a 24.91% increase, a quarter more.”
The mayor highlighted that, “with this, it has finally been possible to overcome the barrier of 1,000 euros of investment per inhabitant, establishing itself for 2024 specifically at 1,023 euros for each real estate owner.”
Domínguez outlined “the main axes of this budget, focused on social spending of more than 6.38 million euros, 5.8% more than in 2023; the commitment to human capital exceeding 12 million in the personnel chapter, 3.2% more than in the current year; investments, which grow to 3.4 million euros, which represents an annual increase of 7.79%; and services, with a record of more than 9.6 million euros in budget between the public companies Realserv, Aquare and Radio Realejos, with respective growth of 6.9%, 2.1% and 10%.”
Social spending
In terms of social spending, an assessment was made of new developments in areas such as Social Welfare, which with more than 3 million will create a new social emergency unit, reinforce the home help service, improve play libraries, increase rental aid and assume the rents of those families who are evicted during the construction of the new social housing of the ARRUR of Los Príncipes.
The new municipal plans for Equality or Children will mark the development of policies in these areas in the next year. In Disability, it is planned to extend to 2 months the successful pioneer Divercampus Inclusive of all disabilities, which emerged in 2023 as a pilot experience for a fortnight, as well as the opening of the multisensory stimulation room of the Comprehensive Care Center for People with Disabilities. The Seniors area will also address the reinforcement of the social support program ‘Seniors in solitude’ and the expansion of activities of the ‘Seniors in the air’ revitalization project.
The Education area will not only have a significant amount allocated to school reform, conditioning and improvement (RAM) works in excess of 450,000 euros, but also funds for the provision of environmental classrooms, school gardens and multisensory classrooms in educational centers, and to this is added the recovery of the reading animation program, as well as the promotion of a municipal school council.
Human capital
In chapter 1 of the 2024 budget, the one for Personnel, the figure rises to 12,031,382.19 euros, which in comparison with five years ago represents an increase of 16.3% in the accounts contemplated in the budget of 2020 for these games. Also during the extraordinary plenary session on the morning of this Wednesday, November 29, the 2024 list of jobs (RPT) was approved, defended by the Councilor for Personnel, José David Cabrera, as a result of the previous consensus at the tables. negotiation with the works committee and staff meeting of all public employees of the Los Realejos City Council.
Investments
Domínguez detailed in the investment section the destination of the 3,412,620 euros for 2024, 246,585 euros more than last year, of which more than 2.3 million will be for the Neighborhood Plan, which promotes the execution of improvement works on roads, infrastructure and public spaces. To this we must add the more than 450,000 euros of works for schools, the 162,837 euros for the execution of investments through employment plans or a new phase of the administrative modernization and digital literacy project that represents another 165,460 euros.
The councilor cited some of the large projects that are planned to be carried out or preliminary work to begin, such as the new swimming pool and sports complex, the rehabilitation of the La Gorvorana farm, the La Montaña mansion, the Icod el Alto, the third phase of the entrance to the municipality through Los Barros, provision of new playgrounds, a pump track for bicycles, a new phase of remodeling the commercial area of La Cruz Santa, the execution of the social housing of the ARRUR of Los Príncipes, the multifunctional park of El Campo in Toscal Longuera or the rehabilitation of the San Agustín School, among others.
Services
In the case of public companies, the Services company, Realserv, will manage a budget of 6,166,397 euros; that of Aguas, Aquare, of 3,193,086 euros, and in that of municipal media, Radio Realejos, it does so up to 278,941 euros, adding between them 9.6 million euros for entities that are supported by a staff of 159 people, susceptible to specific increases through employment plans and agreements.
Security and Emergencies
“The commitment to the Security area and its Local Police force continues to be another of the pillars of municipal management, where up to 3,795.295 euros will be allocated in 2024, that is, around 10% of the total budget of the City Council “, indicated the Councilor for Finance, and added the “remarkable increase in the amounts for Emergencies, above the 86% increase, to reach 108,000 euros with which to support the work of the volunteer associations of Firefighters and Civil Protection of this town, providing them with more and better means in consensus with their representatives, meeting their main demands for the cooperation tasks they carry out in the town and which have been especially evident in the recent episodes of forest fires of the last two summers.
Animal Welfare and Protection
Likewise, mention was made of the recently created area of Animal Welfare and Protection, previously integrated into the Health area and with a smaller budget, which will now have its own items in the amount of 164,000 euros with which the subsidy will be covered. the protector Peludos Felices, to the contract for the collection, custody and feeding of abandoned or helpless animals, to the pest control contract and to the feline colony control project.
Dynamization and activity
Finally, Aránzazu Domínguez cited “the set of areas that, in one way or another, contribute to the dynamization in the municipality and, therefore, to the generation and circulation of economic activity, all of them with notable increases in this 2024 budget reaching, for example, 635,639 euros for Festivals, 612,018 euros for Tourism, 1,069,200 euros for Culture, 574,613 euros for Sports, 807,242 euros for Employment, 604,764 euros for Commerce, 212,175 euros for Rural Development, 195,254 euros for Youth or 83,500 euros for Historical Heritage, among others.”
