The workshop responsible for repairing the local police motorcycles is owed approximately 14,000 euros by the city council. This debt covers the period from September to December 2023 and arose from various breakdowns in safety components, such as the ABS systems. The repair costs exceeded the annual budget allocated for maintaining these vehicles,” stated Gladis de León, the Security Councillor, when responding to an inquiry from the PSOE during the municipal control commission.
Florentino Guzmán, the Socialist spokesperson, raised concerns about “the immediate actions that the City Council will take to settle the debt with the workshop and ensure the repair of the Local Police motorcycles.” This comes following a recent complaint by CSIF regarding the state of the police station’s fleet, which has been reduced from 20 to 9 motorcycles due to breakdowns that prevent their use by officers.
Currently, eleven motorcycles remain out of service, a situation reported by DIARIO DE AVISOS. The union attributes these delays to the council’s outstanding debt with the workshop for prior repairs.
De León clarified that “due to exceeding the allocated amount, it was necessary to follow the extrajudicial recognition of credit procedure, which is nearing completion.” However, he assured that “payments for services this year are up to date.”
Furthermore, it was announced that “a new tender will be launched for the motorcycle maintenance service contract, with a considerably increased budget to cover major repairs.”
The Councillor for Security also mentioned that “the acquisition of six new motorcycles is in progress, expected to be operational by the end of the year or early 2025. Additionally, plans are in place to purchase ten more motorcycles in the upcoming budgets, which would renew nearly two-thirds of the vehicle fleet within just over a year.”
Lifts
Another topic discussed during the commission meeting was the status of elevator installations planned for two buildings in the La Salud neighbourhood. This initiative was presented in 2020 by the former socialist mayor, Patricia Hernández, to provide residents with improved mobility options. Despite facing challenges, the work is ongoing, and completion is anticipated by the end of summer.
Hernández highlighted that “some residents have been unable to leave their homes for eleven months due to mobility issues, and four years later, they still do not have an elevator in place. This is because the current mayor is reluctant to implement a plan that was proposed during my tenure.” This sparked a heated exchange between the parties, with CC councillor José Alberto Díaz-Estébanez referring to the socialist as “Patricia Otis Zardoya.”
Regarding the income generated from leasing municipal housing between 2021 and 2023, Councillor Belén Mesa stated that it amounted to one million euros. She clarified that there is no obligation for periodic transfers and broke down the figures as follows: 241,000 euros for 2021; 246,000 euros for 2022; and 223,000 euros for 2023.
