Agreement to Approve Novelda's 2025 Municipal Budget

The municipal budget for 2025, presented by the Socialist Party government of Novelda this Wednesday, 27th November, will receive the backing of the Conservative municipal group after both parties' spokespersons signed an agreement for the budget document's approval, incorporating contributions made by the Conservatives, according to the Town Hall.

The agreement focuses on increasing allocations for public road repair, maintenance, and accessibility; parks and gardens; animal welfare; improvement and renewal of public lighting to enhance efficiency and energy savings, and the expansion and renovation of the Parkinson's Centre.

The spokesperson for the Socialist municipal government, Lluís Deltell, and the Conservative municipal spokesperson, Javier Abad, formalised the budget agreement signing this Tuesday morning, whereby the Conservative Party will support the 2025 budget document, which will be presented to the full council tomorrow by the Finance Department, amounting to 31,151,358 euros, nearly 4.7 million more than in 2024.

Deltell described it as an "agreement, the result of dialogue and goodwill from both political groups, to provide citizens with the best possible budget next year, enabling necessary investments for the city's continued growth and increased accessibility," while the Conservative municipal spokesperson noted that "by including some of our proposals in the budget, we aim to improve our municipality, Novelda, which stands above any ideology or party."

The agreement, reached after several negotiation meetings on the initial proposal, resulted in increasing the allocation for public road repair, maintenance, and accessibility to 150,000 euros, as both parties believe sufficient budget is needed to "carry out all necessary actions to address existing deficiencies," with the municipal government's commitment to make any necessary budgetary adjustments if more funding is required.

Additionally, the budget for park and garden maintenance in 2025 will increase by over 30,000 euros, reaching 140,000 euros, while the Animal Welfare area will see an increase in its allocation to "support the activities of the municipality's protective and animal welfare associations, which provide a great service to our society on a voluntary basis."

Both municipal groups consider it essential to continue improving and renewing public lighting, agreeing to apply for all possible grants to allow the replacement of lights with LED technology to enhance energy efficiency and reduce consumption.

Special mention is made of the government's commitment to undertake the drafting of the project for the expansion and renovation of the Parkinson's Centre in Novelda, with the execution to be requested for budgeting by the Provincial Council.

The municipal government's spokesperson, Lluís Deltell, expressed satisfaction at reaching an agreement with the Conservatives, thanking them for their dialogue and collaboration, while Javier Abad noted that contributions have been incorporated into a draft of the municipal budget that "we considered to be a good budget," although, he added, "we will not stand aside if we need to warn of any breach of the agreements reached."

The budget proposal presented by the Finance Department amounts to 31,151,358.19 euros, nearly 4.7 million more than in 2024, aiming to maintain the quality of public services, balance current expenditure with a freeze on rates and taxes, and comply with the Adjustment Plan to which the Town Hall is committed.

The investment chapter exceeds six million euros, and the document proposes allocating the treasury surplus from the 2024 budget settlement to the early repayment of financial debt.