Manilva Town Hall has held the formal ceremony appointing Francisco Javier González Herrera as the new chief of the Local Police, bringing to a close, «at least for now», a process that has had several twists and has taken more than one attempt to reach its conclusion.
The ceremony was attended by the mayor of Manilva and head of the Public Safety department, Mario Jiménez, along with the spokespeople of the various municipal groups. During the event, tribute was also paid to the careers of retired officers Mateo Collado Benítez and Francisco Gil González, as well as administrative worker María del Carmen Parra Zotano.
Representatives of the Guardia Civil, Local Police colleagues and family members also attended the ceremony.
An appointment that has come after several chapters
González’s arrival at the head of the force brings to an end a procedure that began with the Town Hall’s announcement of his appointment, when the call for applications had not yet been officially opened.
The Town Hall subsequently published the first set of rules for filling the post by direct appointment (libre designación), on an urgent basis and with a period of just three working days to submit applications. In that first call, the provisional list produced a striking result, to say the least: a single admitted candidate, Francisco Javier González Herrera, while another applicant was excluded for failing to meet one of the requirements set out in the rules.
But the procedure did not end there.
The objections forced a fresh start; the submission of objections against those first rules led to a new twist. Finally, the Town Hall had to backtrack and declare the decree approving the call null and void, considering that the irregularities identified affected essential steps of the procedure, and ordered proceedings to be taken back to the point before the rules were approved.
The new call introduced changes compared with the first, including a period of 15 working days to submit applications and ten days to correct any defects in the documentation. Criteria were also established relating to command experience, training, professional career, police management project and a personal interview.
The final decision once again fell to the mayor’s office by means of a reasoned resolution, within the system of direct appointment.
The unusual chronology of the procedure means that Francisco Javier González’s name has been on the table practically from the outset.
First he was announced as the future head of the force; then the post was officially advertised; later he appeared as the only admitted applicant in the first call; and, after that procedure was annulled, the Town Hall had to draw up new rules and reopen the process.
Now, finally, the Town Hall has held the formal ceremony that makes his arrival as head of the force official.
The Town Hall once again puts the focus on safety
During the ceremony, the mayor again highlighted the work carried out by the Local Police and expressed his commitment to strengthening and improving safety in the municipality.
The appointment also comes at a time when the governing team has been arguing for the need to expand the police force with «15 new posts» and calling for greater Guardia Civil reinforcement in Manilva.
With Francisco Javier González Herrera now at the head of the force, a new era begins for the Manilva Local Police. It comes after several months of changes in the leadership and an administrative procedure that has had to overcome more obstacles than initially expected.
