With the approval of the municipal government (PSOE-PP), against Coalición Canaria, and the abstention of Arico Somos Todos, the Arico Council approved this year’s budget for 11,402,080 Euros on Tuesday. It includes a 36.8% increase in the local government’s salary costs, rising from 119,082 Euros to 442,900. The annual gross salary of the mayor and the first deputy mayor, Olivia Delgado and Andrés Martínez, is now 52,000 Euros, an increase of 10,000 Euros each. The salary of the second and third deputy mayors, Ariam Álvarez and Eudelia Pestano, respectively, increases from 33,000 Euros to 42,000 Euros, while Agustín Tejera, the fourth deputy mayor, goes from 33,000 to 35,000 Euros.
Coalición Canaria pointed out that the current situation is being described as “the most expensive one in the history” of Arico, although the municipal government insists that these are “completely unfounded” statements. “The salaries of this government group are in line with the average of the other councils in the Islands. They comply with the law for municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants and reflect the work and responsibility held by the representatives of the local administration,” stated the socialists and populares in a joint press release.
CC highlights that the total cost of the PSOE-PP municipal government has risen from 119,082 Euros from the previous term (First Arico-CC-PP) to 442,900
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The spokesperson for CC, Víctor García, further criticised by stating that the local government now has two delegate councillors (one more than in the previous term), who have seen their annual incomes increase from 33,000 Euros to 35,000. They warned of a second increase in the salaries of temporary staff in this term. While in the 2019-2023 period, the salary was 22,000 Euros, at the beginning of this term it increased to 27,498 Euros and will now be 33,000 Euros.
A Milestone
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Yesterday’s approval of the budget represents “a milestone in municipal management, with a clear vision towards progress and community well-being” as it is the first budget approved in the first quarter in the last decade, according to the local government. “An achievement that has been reached despite the need to first resolve certain outstanding debts left by the previous nationalist government.”
This year, the budget amounts to 11,402,080 Euros, representing a 22.49% increase from the last approved budget in 2022. “This increase highlights the municipality’s commitment to progress and continuous improvement, surpassing previous challenges and raising the standards of local public administration,” said the government group. In their view, “it marks a change from previous administrations, where under the CC administration, only four budgets were approved in the last decade and always at the end of the year“, the current government team has managed to approve the budget in the first quarter.”
“This is an achievement that has been reached despite the need to first resolve certain outstanding debts left by the previous nationalist government”
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Olivia Delgado highlighted that the initial budget approval “serves to respond to the municipality’s needs, an increase in current expenditure that will be allocated to new contracts that we will tender for waste collection, street cleaning, maintenance of gardens and public roads, or, for example, to renew all municipal playgrounds”.
Andrés Martínez expressed his satisfaction as “it is a day where a budget has been approved that increases by more than two million Euros compared to the previous one, by more than 22%“. Among these increases, a 30% rise in the chapter favouring the management of “new contracts in tender that enhances the quality of services such as waste collection and street cleaning or the maintenance of gardens” stands out.
In the subsidies section, in this budget, “we have taken into account all collectives, including some that were not complementary, such as AMPAs and other sports or cultural groups, with an improvement of 107% compared to the previous budget”. Furthermore, in investments “there is a 32% improvement compared to the previous one, aimed at sports facilities, infrastructure replacement, or road resurfacing”.
“Now they do in Publicity and Festivals what they used to criticize so much, moreover, in an exorbitant manner, showing their hypocrisy”
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38 Amendments Rejected
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Coalición Canaria criticised the rejection of the 38 amendments that the nationalists presented through which they requested improvements in employment, the primary sector, support for local collectives, education, equality, sports, tourism, and local development. CC abstained from the 250,000 Euro budget modification prior to the compensation to the company of the square, when only 9,000 Euros are confirmed. “The file shows that the reports justifying such compensation are not yet available, which is surprising mainly because the same person who reported this file intends to carry out this compensation,” detailed García.
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The spokesperson criticised that the municipal government approves an expenditure on Publicity and Festivals that skyrockets to 622,040 Euros. “In the previous term, the socialists criticized us for these types of issues, and now, they do what they used to criticise so much and in an exorbitant manner, showing their hypocrisy”.
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