Yesterday, the plenary assembly of La Laguna convened an extraordinary session in which Adrián del Castillo Correa (PSOE) formally took his place as the new councillor for the council, following the resignation of councillor Leticia Villegas earlier this month. Villegas was previously in charge of Culture and the Primary Sector. The new councillor joins the socialist group within the council and consequently becomes a member of the local government group, where he will take on the responsibilities of Councilor for Culture and president of the Autonomous Body for Musical Activities, as confirmed by the council yesterday.
Additionally, the remainder of the reorganisation of governmental departments announced at the beginning of this month will remain intact, with Cristina Ledesma still responsible for the Primary Sector and Cemeteries, while Badel Albelo continues overseeing Citizen Security (replacing Ledesma) alongside Sports.
During yesterday’s special session, a budget alteration amounting to 8.85 million euros was also sanctioned, with only the PP abstaining, to be funded through new revenues from credit shifts made from Sports, totalling 6.34 million euros, and Urban Planning (2.5 million euros), as outlined in the document.
The sum exceeding six million euros is “to facilitate the ongoing processing of contracts for the execution of specific projects that cannot be postponed to the following year”, as stated in the documentation. This includes the supply, installation, and commissioning of modern shelters for public transport, the refurbishment of the social housing area of El Cardonal to enhance accessibility, and the improvement of road surfaces, among others.
The spokesperson for Unidas se puede, Rubens Ascanio, expressed criticism that this allocation aims to support projects that “initially were to be funded by the European Edusi funds” obtained by the council in 2018, totalling more than 17 million euros, of which only 1.7 million euros have been executed. He denounced the “ineffective” management by the company hired to oversee these funds. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that the Edusi funds “have faced complex developments across nearly all municipalities” in Spain, while also noting that the low execution rates highlight “the administrative frailty of the municipality” of La Laguna, stemming from a lack of staff.
From the PP, Juan Antonio Molina advocated for improved management within the council to ensure “that items do not need to be returned” and also critiqued the frequency of budget modifications.
The spokesperson for the socialist group, Badel Albelo, defended that “budgets are dynamic and modifications are encompassed within the law.” Concerning the Edusi funds, he asserted that “nothing is being returned because nothing was deposited” and clarified that the focus is on “fulfilling our commitments with our own funds that were unable to be included in the Edusi due to the deadline of 31 December 2023.”
Lastly, the plenary session acknowledged the file regarding the 2023 account audits of the autonomous bodies for Sports and Musical Activities, alongside the financial control report concerning minor contracts within the council and said bodies in 2023.
