The latest ordinary council meeting of Manilva Town Hall, held on 2 October, was the setting for intense criticism from the spokesman for the VOX municipal group, Antonio Marín, who reported a significant financial overrun in the fiestas line of the municipal budget, accusing the governing team of a lack of courage and poor budget planning.
According to the information provided by VOX, the municipal Corporation presented for approval invoices with objections from the Chief Financial Officer (Interventor) worth close to €300,000. These invoices, mostly corresponding to events and expenses of last summer’s fiestas, are on top of the €70,000 originally included in the annual budget for Festejos (festivities).
«An Unrealistic Budget»: The Real Figure for Fiestas Reaches €370,000
Antonio Marín pointed out that, when adding the budgeted spending to that presented through these out-of-court recognitions of credit (reconocimientos extrajudiciales de crédito), the real amount spent on fiestas by Manilva Town Hall would come to around €370,000.
In his address, Marín spoke directly to the governing team, and in particular to Mr Jiménez, calling for «courage» to «put into the budgets» the real figure expected to be spent each year.
«They bring us here fiestas spending of approximately 300,000 euros, and the budget is 70,000 euros. And you tell me that this always happens. Well, it’s wrong that it happens! This cannot happen… If this is happening year after year, why is it not budgeted for? Be brave, Mr Jiménez,» said the VOX councillor.
Marín described this practice of presenting spending items outside the initial budget as «trickery» and «cheating oneself», insisting that planning must be done with real «numbers and data», and not with the expectation of receiving future «unconditional allocations from the Diputación» (provincial government), like «winning the lottery».
Impact on Residents: Tax Rises and Debt
The VOX spokesman recalled that his group had already voted against the Annual Budgets because it considered them «unrealistic». He also directly linked the uncontrolled spending to the consequences for residents, noting that the need to refinance the municipal debt has already led to a tax rise affecting everyone in Manilva.
Although Councillor Marín acknowledged the dedication of the fiestas councillor, Rogelio, in leading the organisation, his criticism focused exclusively on financial management. «I am talking about the financial side,» he clarified, questioning whether spending €300,000 on fiestas can be justified in a town hall that is in debt.
Consequently, the VOX municipal group announced it would vote against the out-of-court recognition of credits presented at the council meeting.
