Benidorm approves the 2024 budget which amounts to 141.6 million, of which more than 22 million will be allocated to investments

Benidorm City Council approved this Tuesday in full the 2024 municipal budget, which amounts to 141.6 million euros, of which more than 22 million will be allocated to real investments. The municipal accounts have gone ahead with the favourable votes of the local government, and the Popular Party, and have had the rejection of the opposition of socialists and Vox, despite the different offers of the PP to reach an agreement and incorporate some into the draft. of their proposals.

The Councilor for Finance, Aida García Mayor, explained that with this document we will “achieve the maintenance of the economic balance of the City Council, establishing the spending limit of the different council departments, promoting the proper use of available resources and their maximum use”, for the achievement of public interest.” Likewise, the councillor has stated that the budgets “have their legal-economic reference in the completion of the suspension of the fiscal rules that have been in force in the years 2020 to 2023, as a measure to overcome the economic consequences of the COVID pandemic. 19, and once the Adjustment Plan approved in 2012 was amortized in advance, which established important control frameworks in the spending chapters of the budgets from 2012 to 2021 in which it was in force.

García Mayor has highlighted that this is a budget “that increases social spending, improves the quality of basic services –provided by the City Council–, and is committed to our young people and our elderly”, to which he also added that the It will allow “Benidorm to continue to prosper without leaving anyone behind.”

As regards purely the numbers, with a balanced forecast of expenses and income that amounts to 141,683,787.5 euros, Aida García Mayor has reported that, making a comparison with the 2023 budget, the municipal accounts approved for this year they present an increase in the total volume of income and expenses of 10.57%.

The planned investments will reach 22.27 million euros, of which 12.47 million euros are expected to be financed with transfers from other public administrations and entities, while the rest will be met with municipal resources. These investments will be aimed at undertaking all projects "affected by subsidies from European funds, or from the city, such as the Vial Discotecas and the roundabout of the future industrial and commercial estate", the priority project and to which it is planned to allocate a total of 8.9 million that, as García Mayor recalled, “the State should have borne.”

In this chapter, “689,333.02 euros are also reserved for projects proposed by the Neighborhood Council within the 'Participatory Budgets' section”, which according to the Treasury councillor “represents the 5 per cent indicated in its regulations and will allow in this year exceed its historical ceiling, being the highest amount since its launch in 2016.”

During her intervention, the councilor for the Economic department also explained that the accounts plan to increase, for example, the items allocated to Chapter 4 related to social spending, with more amounts for subsidies to the Red Cross or for new entrepreneurs; for cooperation credits; for actions related to older people, such as telecare programs, 'Major a casa' or 'Menjars a casa'; for the maintenance of sports facilities; for university transportation; for the improvement of parks and gardens; or street cleaning and garbage collection, as a result of the bidding for the new contract.

As regards the expenses chapter, the provisions in the budget for the personnel item reach 49,647,967.05 euros and have been calculated including the increase of 2.0% plus the additional 0.5% that was conditioned to the increase in inflation, as well as the effect of the VPT, the application of the professional career or the coverage of positions collected in previous years. Regarding Chapter 2, the budget allocations for goods and services reach 55,619,405.77 euros, while financial expenses amount to 2,936,000.00 euros, as a consequence of the increase in interest rates and the increase in the debt to finance investments, as explained by the delegate councillor.
Likewise, the amortization of the debt goes from 2.8 to 2.9 million euros, while in the income section, the most significant variations have to do with the increases in direct taxes, which reach 52.74 million; rates, up to 32.54 million; of capital transfers, which amount to 12.47 million), and with the decrease in the financial liabilities chapter, which goes from 24.18 to 6.40 million euros.

In conclusion, “the budget that has been prepared represents a significant investment effort that can be carried out by taking advantage of the opportunity of the subsidies granted, thanks to the restructuring carried out in the Administration and the improvement of contracting conditions. In addition, the quality of services to citizens will be improved, without failing to achieve strict compliance with the Budgetary Stability Law,” added the mayor.

Regarding the vote against the two opposition groups, Aída García Mayor has regretted that the budget has not been able to move forward with greater consensus, despite the “predisposition of this government team” to reach agreements, despite having a sufficient majority to carry them forward alone. At this point, the councillor has revealed that of the 20 proposals raised at the time by the PSOE, the local government accepted the incorporation of up to ten of them, five selected by the PSOE: the installation of the Cultural Center stage box, aid for housing rental, the new youth centre, the rehabilitation of Palau d'Esports and the remodelling of Emilio Ortuño; in addition to five others that the Popular Party introduced, such as the one hundred per cent subsidy of the Escoles Matineres, the creation of the Mayor's Office, the launch of rehearsal facilities, in addition to the remodelling of Festa Espai and  Manizales square. Finally, she regretted that the PSOE decided to “unilaterally break” the negotiation, without the possibility of sealing an agreement.

Budget modification

Also in economic matters, and just after the initial approval of the 2024 budget, a budget modification worth 6,405,846.76 euros has been approved, money that will form part of the remainder of the Treasury for Expenses with Affected Financing. Aída García Mayor has explained that these amounts come from the income from the tourism sustainability plans (3,238,661.61 euros) for 2024, the balance of the income from the Low Emissions Zone (1,611,008.69 euros) and the balance of the affected financing of the Aula del Mar (1,556,176.46 euros) and that the technicians of the economic area have considered that all these items should be approved together with the budget.

This proposal has been carried out unanimously by all the political groups that make up the municipal Corporation.