In view of the existence of expenditure that cannot be postponed until the following financial year, for which there is no provision in the current budget and given that sufficient funding is available, a credit modification for extraordinary credit amounting to €1,335,911.03 was brought before the plenary session today and approved with the votes of the government and the abstention of the opposition.
The aim is to cancel certain budget items that are not committed and are not planned to be executed this year in order to meet other expenses that need to be executed this financial year. In addition, €755,684.89 is allocated from the 2024 cash surplus. This will be used to remove items such as sanitation and rainwater infrastructure worth €569,226.14, popular festivals worth €1,000, and building repair and maintenance worth €10,000.
The items to be executed this year relate to the payment of interest on arrears arising from court rulings amounting to €380,674.92 (the company SIREM, formerly COLSUR, sued the City Council at the same time as the City Council sued the company, and the appeal has not yet been resolved).
Other items to be implemented this year include investment in urban land in the Maryvilla area through expropriation at fair market value amounting to €854,423.04, the installation of pipes and pre-installation of the public Wi-Fi network in the old town for €49,813.07, the acquisition of furniture and equipment for the Primary Care Social Centre for €40,000, the Sports and Culture Gala Awards for €10,000 and the Moors and Christians Poster Competition for €1,000.
At this point, the spokesperson for Defendamos Calpe, Paco Quiles, questioned the lack of information, stating that "we need to assess who defended not paying these bills and why. We have to pay almost €400,000 in late payment interest, but why wasn't an attempt made to pay earlier? As for the plot of land, in 1998 it was decided that it would be privately owned and we are going to pay €160 per square metre without having a plan for what is going to be done there. It could have been exchanged for land in the lower part of Maryvilla to create much-needed parking spaces. In the end, it is the citizens who pay the consequences".
The spokesperson for the Popular Party, Miguel Crespo, said that "we are holding a plenary session to pay almost €400,000 in late payment interest and €800,000 for private land, two actions that will not result in improvements for citizens. The late payment interest in the sadly notorious rubbish case could reach €6 million. On the other hand, in the requested expropriation of the plots at the last plenary session, they announced the declassification of the plots in the sectors, and it makes no sense if we compare both operations, what is going to be paid for some plots and what they plan to pay for the others. When we demand legal certainty, we are talking about costs that can be borne by the City Council. Furthermore, a requested expropriation is not the same as a forced expropriation."
For his part, Socialist spokesperson Guillermo Sendra explained that "on the Colsur issue, everyone knows that there is a criminal proceeding that began in 2010. This government team was not in office at that time, and since then there has been a series of lawsuits. The logical thing is to pay what the judges say. There is a lawsuit filed by Colsur against the City Council and by the City Council against Colsur. A judge ruled that criminal preliminary proceedings applied, and now we have to pay while we wait for the City Council's lawsuit against Colsur to be resolved."
The spokesperson for Compromís, Ximo Perles, pointed out that "there is the concept of credit compensation. If 12 million is claimed (which is what the City Council is claiming from Colsur) and the company is asking us for 6 million, we are awaiting the resolution, but for the moment there is a judge who says that we have to pay. From 2011 to 2019, the Popular Party was in government and did not change the policy of not paying. As for the plots, there is a substantial difference between the sectors, in that those in Maryvilla are urban and the others are not‘. Perles also accused the spokesperson for Defendamos Calpee of ’not attending meetings, not knowing anything and then insinuating things that are not true in order to make the government look bad".
The spokesperson for Somos Calpe, Juan Manuel del Pino, concluded by pointing out that "as for the interest on arrears, the ruling comes 15 years after the start of the proceedings and is the result of a court ruling, regardless of our opinion. As for the Maryvilla plots, we are talking about consolidated public land, and in the sectors we are talking about land to be developed, and the prices are obviously different and will be backed by the provincial court; the value of the land is not the same in one place as in another".
To conclude the debate, the mayoress, Ana Sala, stated that ‘justice is slow and this is a ruling that must be complied with. As for the expropriation requested in the 1998 General Urban Development Plan, it outlines things that no longer make sense today. The owner has been waiting 27 years for the City Council to take action to resolve the issue of private land designated for public use and has finally grown tired and requested expropriation’.
In addition, a credit recognition of 4,565.76 euros from last year's budget was approved. The municipal ordinance regulating direct financial aid to individuals or families in situations of social emergency and for the improvement of the autonomy of the elderly was also unanimously approved. The aim is to establish municipal guidelines in line with the criteria of the Valencian Regional Government that will allow for more agile management of emergency social aid.