Benidorm will allocate 4 million euros to direct aid to families, businesses, freelances and SMEs

Benidorm City Council is going to allocate 4 million euros to "alleviate the social and economic crisis" derived "from the COVID-19 health crisis" through "direct aid to families and to the commercial and business fabric, mainly autonomous and SMEs ”. This has been announced today by the mayor, Toni Pérez, at a press conference in which, on behalf of the city, he conveyed his condolences to the families of those who died due to the epidemic, while wishing for the speedy recovery of all affected.

As explained by the mayor, these grants are aimed "to cover the basic needs of families" and to contribute to the economic recovery of "commercial and business activity, paying special attention to freelances and SMEs". Likewise, it has affected that "these measures" that will be implemented over the next week "are in addition to those that have been adopted since March 16" to alleviate the tax burden on families and companies during the health crisis such as: delaying the payment of deferrals, installments, licenses and settlements issued by the City Council; suspend the collection of receipts for municipal educational and sports services; and do not turn for the moment to collect the Tax on Mechanical Traction Vehicles (ITVM) and the garbage rate.

Toni Pérez has advanced that of the 4 million euros announced, 1.4 million are of “practically immediate” qualification via the decree of the Mayor's Office and will “go entirely to Social Welfare and the families of Benidorm”. That amount corresponds to 20% of the 2019 surplus that the Government of Spain allows the City Councils to allocate to implement measures related to the coronavirus crisis.

The remaining 2.6 million euros, he has detailed, "are going to be subtracted from chapter 6 of Investments of the 2020 municipal budget." At this point, the mayor has clarified that "only the investments planned on public roads will be affected, therefore respecting those related to Social Welfare, Sports or Historical Heritage, among other areas." Toni Pérez has indicated that "these 2.6 million euros are subject to a budget modification" that must be approved in full.

A plenary that wants to convene telematically at the end of April, although this issue will be addressed on Tuesday in a Board of Spokespersons, in which the bases that will govern the first aid announced today will also be announced. In the absence of the bases being specified, the mayor announced that they "will pay special attention to families and people affected by an ERTE (Temporary Employment Regulation File) or who have permanently lost their job."

Likewise, and by asking questions from journalists, Toni Pérez explained that the government team "has answered all questions" related to municipal action and management of the coronavirus crisis and others formulated by the opposition, to which personal information is reported. and punctually every day on the situation of the city and the content of the meeting that the Municipal Emergency Committee holds every morning. Regarding the proposals of an economic nature transferred by the opposition groups, he has indicated that they “are largely overcome with the proposals made and materialized by the local government on a day-to-day basis since the beginning of the health crisis, to which those 4 million euros in grants announced today are added ”.