The plenary session of the Calpe Town Council has approved today the municipal budget for 2024, which maintains the reduction of the IBI and does not affect any of the existing items. The budget amounts to 46.962.815 €, which represents an increase of 1'13 compared to 2023, with an expenditure amounting to 14.787.054 € and an income forecast identical to the expenditure.
In a context of inflation and rising base prices for tenders, a demanding contracting plan has been established to make savings in contracting without reducing requirements, in addition to the decision to pay off the bank debt and its interest in 2023, which has reduced expenditure by almost 1.9 million euros, and the opening of interest-bearing accounts means that the banks will remunerate the municipal treasury with a forecast income of 977,000 euros in 2024.
The Tax Reduction Plan is maintained with the suspension of the municipal tax derived from the environmental licence, the 5.04% reduction of the IBI approved in 2019, the bonuses for capital gains on inheritances are extended to all types of property and in all degrees of consanguinity, the IBI is reduced for the installation of solar panels and the tax for private use of public roads is suspended between 1 November and the end of February.
The amount earmarked for the maintenance of educational centres is increased by €50,000, from €48,000 to €98,000. For the first time, the "Calpe Viu i Digne" programme has been incorporated with an allocation of €55,000 for emergency food needs and the allocation for the revitalisation of the Old Town has been increased from €30,000 to €100,000. Another of the most notable novelties is the allocation of €270,000 for an accessibility programme for the streets of the municipality with the "Accessible Calpe" programme and the installation of security cameras with Artificial Intelligence for which €100,000 has been earmarked.
As for the most important
investments, the budget includes the comprehensive reform of the Parc dels Garrofers for which there is a grant from the Diputación within the Plan +Cerca, an investment of 1,617,600€ in section 6 of Vial J, 145,000€ for the maintenance and improvement of the bike lane and 100,000€ for the extension of the Cemetery.
Other investments include €30,000 for a police office on the Fossa beach, €54,000 for the replenishment of the desalination plant and €269,000 for the storm water drainage project at the entrance to the cemetery. And the most outstanding investment in the budget is undoubtedly the €5,400,000 for the construction of the second secondary school as part of the Pla Edificant. And €125,000 has been earmarked for the centenary celebrations of the Fishermen's Guild.
In the subsidies chapter, €150,000 is earmarked for rent subsidies, €40,000 for IBI payment subsidies for the elderly, the unemployed and pensioners, €235,000 for subsidies for sports organisations, €70,000 for subsidies for the rehabilitation of façades and €146,000 for university transport subsidies. To this must be added the nominative subsidies with different associations and municipal entities to which a total of €430,000 is earmarked.
Another of the main lines envisaged in these accounts is the improvement and maintenance of municipal services. This includes the maintenance of the lifeguard, lifeguard and supervised bathing service, which will extend the summer season, the timetable and the staff with an amount of 704,375 € and which this year is increased by 20% more. An item of €345,269 is included for the gardening pruning service, palm tree pruning and machinery for the improvement of public roads and green areas.
The budget also includes the new waste collection and transport and street cleaning service with a budget of 44,811,285€ for 9 years. The budget also includes the new service of project drafting and construction management with 250,000€ and 100,000€ for the drafting of projects such as the refurbishment of the local police station, the canteen and toilets of the municipal warehouse, the new headquarters of civil protection and the Fester Museum among others.
Criticism from the opposition
The mayoress, Ana Sala, began the item by pointing out that "this budget reflects the will of the current government to manage the municipality in a transparent, responsible, honest way and with the aim of achieving the greatest social welfare achieved so far, without increasing the tax burden and subsidising other taxes". The municipal opposition groups, PP and Defend Calpe, showed their rejection to the municipal accounts and voted against.
The spokesman for Defend Calpe, Paco Quiles, said "these are continuist budgets, there are no major changes, there are record revenues and that does not translate into better public services than in other municipalities, there is a lack of infrastructure, mobility policies, there is a lack of historical sanitation. There is also a problem with spending, it cannot increase by more than 3% and the comptroller detects that it is increasing by 9%. We have to cut back because this budget does not identify the expenses. Personnel costs are up by a million more, what plan do you have to correct this expenditure? Furthermore, the investment is for maintenance, there is nothing new to improve the citizenship except the IES".
For his part, the PP councillor, Miguel Crespo, has indicated that "this budget reflects proposals without political direction, they do not give real answers to the problems of Calpe, the tripartite does not just start, this budget does not address the main proposals of the governing parties starting with making participatory budgets. We have budgets based on continuity, there is no investment beyond the projects initiated by the PP governments. These budgets are a continuation of decisions taken under the PP government".
The government spokesman, Ximo Perles, said that on 10 October he had sent a letter to the different spokesmen so that they could send him their proposals for the budget, "the effort to count on everyone has been made. We have had four months to form the budget, it has not been easy but there is political direction, there have been new priorities that stand out as the increase in investment in education or the program "Calpe, Viu i Digne", are significant measures. They say they are tackling staff costs, but how? by laying people off, reducing salaries, these are illegal measures".
The spokesman for the socialist group, Guillermo Sendra, after thanking the technicians for their work, addressed the popular bench, pointing out that "after claiming that the budget is based on the contributions of the PP, you end up saying that it is not up to the standards of the people of Calpe. These budgets incorporate the intentions of the three parties, even if it is unfortunate for them, there is good harmony between the three parties".
Finally, the spokesman for Somos Calpe, Juan Manuel del Pino, added that "the arguments of the PP are surprising because many of the actions of these budgets come from the previous legislature, when you governed. This government team is a clear example of what the function of a municipal government means, where ideologies are put aside to improve the lives of citizens".