The 2009 Budget is NOT a surprise for Los Verdes

The Los Verdes party decided to vote NO to the 2009 Budget for Orihuela because;

It is not participatory, as it does not take into account the wishes of the citizens;
It is not supportive, as the social elements are decreased considerably;
It is not just, as it does not take into account the real needs of those who most need help;
It is not fair, to the different parts of the Municipality and in particular to the Costa;
It is not committed, as it is not intended to create jobs, to generate confidence that the people need now;
It is not balanced, as the bureaucratic machinery that the PP government has created, needs a large part of the budget.

We have asked many times over the past years as to what will happen when the "bad times” come as the construction boom will not last forever. The PP government branded us (Los Verdes) as prophets of doom. During the boom years, they (PP government) have not been able to manage the revenue, and have even created a Council Deficit (debt) and it will be made worse in these years of difficulties.

The 'bad times' have come.

Now we can not spend the money on parties and assistance to "hangers on " that, certainly, do not need it. On the contrary, this government has got into debt due to extravagant vanity, and today we must all pay dearly.

2009 BUDGET
Let's look at the numbers:

67 million € in 2009 (in 2008, 90 million €).
The overall budget reduced by 27%, investments are down by 89%, lower overhead costs down by 19%, financial liabilities, that we have to pay to several banks, are increased by 115.25%.

Staff Costs
The bureaucratic machinery that the PP government has created, needs 40% of the budgets to pay approximately 1,000 staff (including joint ventures). In overtime they have been paid a whopping 1 million €. As for productivity, the arbitrary concept of the PP is to reward the good and punish the bad civil servants, this will amount to 980,000 €.

Investment
The investments are estimated at approximately 2.4 million €, of which the City will provide resources of 563,000 €, whilst 975,000 € will be financed with a new loan and the rest will be from subsidies of 804,000 € from Regional Administration and Central Government.

Debts
Financial Expenses: The City Council owes 40 million €, which costs about 5 million € this year, 1.8 million € in interest and 3.2 million € in repayment of the capital owed.

If we make a comparison between the investments and debt we see that investment is half the cost of debt, or better said, the cost of debt is double the investment. It demonstrates once again the fiasco of the management of the PP in the past 20 years. With proper management we could have an investment of at least 7 million € each year for the whole municipality, including the Coast

Amendments
Los Verdes in the face of these budgets, accepted its public commitment to Orihuela and its citizens. Therefore we made a Campaign of Participation to gather needs of the Oriolanos (citizens of Orihuela Municipality) to be included in the Council's 2009 Budget. The outcome of the campaign was the presentation of 72 amendments that reflect the real concerns of the Oriolanos. The citizens collaborated and developed the suggested amendments.

Of these 72 amendments 14 have been approved, including 5 amendments relevant to the coast as follows:

1. Undertake a campaign aimed at businesses within Orihuela, to provide support, for the replacement of plastic bags by other forms of packaging that causes less damage to the environment.
2. Removal of physical architectural barriers that restrict access for the disabled to the beaches of the municipality.
3. The provision of information signs on illegal construction sites.
4. Purchase by the local police of Orihuela of electrically propelled motorcycles.
5. Purchase of sound level meters for the local police to measure noise.

Conclusion
Unfortunately, the PP ignores the real needs of citizens and then develops a budget intended as a political strategy of prestige for the Mayoress, Monica Lorente. It is not a social budget because there are cuts in social policy spending. It is not intended to create employment because there is only half a million euros for investments which can give employment to Oriolanos.

Ultimately the bad management of the taxes of Orihuela by the PP, in looking after their own interests and not that of the town, squandering the income of the Regional Administration or Central Government, has contributed to this abominable policy, the stagnation of Orihuela and lack of services for its citizens.