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Benalmádena town hall has reduced its budget for 2024 by 33 million euros. In an urgent motion included in the last full council session of the year, finance councillor José Miguel Muriel proposed the modification of the budget through the non-availability of credit agreement. This move aims to address, before the end of the fiscal year, a demand made a few months ago by the central government subdelegation in Malaga province, which directly requested the annulment of the budget, arguing that it could "breach" the law concerning the principles of budgetary stability.
Among the elements analysed by the central government to reach this conclusion was the existence of an economic shortfall of 35.9 million euros between the projected expenditure and the expected revenue outlined in the budget proposal. In other words, the municipal government, which approved the budget thanks to the absolute majority of the PP in the full council meeting, included 35.9 million euros more in expenditure than in revenue for 2024.
It was precisely the opposition who submitted the accounts to the government sub-delegation, requesting their annulment—specifically the Izquierda Unida group and the PSOE.
"We gave our commitment to monitoring the implementation of the budget, which is why we are bringing this agreement on credit unavailability, amounting to 33 million, to the full council meeting. We are a responsible government; we do not have a budget deficit, and the average payment period for suppliers is twelve days, less than half of what the law requires,” Muriel said.
"When they approved this budget we told them that it was unrealistic and irresponsible. Among other things, they assured us that they were going to receive 42 million in capital gains, and they have received eight million. This situation is the result of the audacity of not having listened to anyone, neither to the experts nor to the opposition, and with this they have put at risk the financial health of an institution that cost a lot to clean up," the secretary general of the PSOE of Benalmádena, Víctor Navas, claimed.
Navas also criticised the budget cuts, describing them as "a complete mess," with credit freezes exceeding the amounts allocated in the budget itself and highly affected areas such as parks and gardens or housing.
"The 2024 budget was a scam, as warned by the municipal technicians, the opposition, the subdelegation of the central government and the regional authority, and now they bring this here to cover their backs. Why don't they be humble and apologise to the public," said Izquierda Unida spokesperson, Enrique Pablo Centella.
Vox spokesperson Joaquín Amann added: "This is a pantomime, an attempt to avoid going to jail and to show that they have deceived and swindled the people of Benalmádena."
The mayor of Benalmádena responded by saying: "They have no idea what a budget is. It would have been a scandal not to have done the work that we have done in the schools in a year and a half, or the extension of the library. This had not been done in the eight years of socialist government. It seems that you haven't governed before and what you've wanted is to bring the discourse of fear here."
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