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Alicante City Council. TC
Alicante's 2025 Budget Increases Subsidies for Hogueras by 50%

Alicante's 2025 Budget Increases Subsidies for Hogueras by 50%

The budget totals 347.29 million euros | The auditor approves the accounts, which will be presented to the plenary in February

Tere Compañy Martínez

Alicante

Jueves, 30 de enero 2025, 17:06

Continues the process for Alicante to approve its 2025 budget. The municipal accounts have cleared the final technical hurdle, receiving the auditor's approval, and an Extraordinary Government Board approved the draft this Thursday.

On the table, the figures total 347.29 million euros, and opposition groups now have five days to submit amendments. Following this, the budget will proceed to the plenary for initial approval, a mere formality after Vox and PP announced an agreement at the end of 2024 to push it through. It will then go to public exhibition, with final approval expected by March.

Investments

The draft municipal budget for Alicante in 2025 proposes 347,291,019 euros. Although this is a high figure, it is below the 359 million of 2025, a 3.33% decrease due in part to a reduction in investments of over 20 million euros, dropping from 46 to 24 million, a 46% reduction.

In this section, projects such as the construction of the Tómbola sports hall (1.2 million), the renovation of Lo Morant Park (629,563 euros), and others are highlighted, including the Integrated Municipal Centre of Plaza de Argel, the rehabilitation of the López Soria School for senior use, and the expansion of the Tossalet employment and training centre.

In this urban transformation push, notable actions include the replacement of city roads for 2.3 million, the renovation of El Palmeral Park (741,349 euros), the restoration of the Santa Ana bastion in Santa Bárbara Castle, and all educational works under the Edificant Plan: construction of a gym and dining hall at CEIP San Juan Bautista (785,119), comprehensive rehabilitation of CEE Santo Ángel de la Guarda (304,163), and expansion of CEIP La Florida (239,784). Regarding specific actions in neighbourhoods, the planned rehabilitation in Virgen del Remedio stands out, affecting 288 homes with a budget of 1.8 million. The project also includes a long-term loan operation of 4.88 million to complement all investments in the Budget.

Additionally, another 2.9 million is added for capital transfers to municipal autonomous bodies. As a counterbalance to the reduction in investments, the council has also reduced long-term loans, which this year drop from 40 million in 2024 to 4.88 million euros.

Garbage Tax Increase

The approval of the new garbage tax has provided the municipal accounts with a lifeline of over 16 million euros. An increase of more than 160% is due to the European Union's obligation to update this regulation.

The municipal plenary approved at the end of the year the modification of the tax, which could increase the bill for this concept for Alicante residents up to four times. Thus, the council will receive 25 million euros for this concept in 2025.

Culture and Festive Entity Subsidies

This year's municipal accounts include an increase of more than 30% in funds allocated to Culture and Festivals. In the case of Hogueras, subsidies can be processed two months in advance and before the festive cycle without needing to resort to the financial mechanism of credit modifications. Among the improvements, subsidies to festive entities also increase from 885 thousand euros in 2024 to 1.32 million, a 50% variation compared to the previous year.

In cultural matters, the allocation to public libraries rises by 24% to 1.3 million, and museums and visual arts grow by 21% to nearly three million.

Welfare and Education

Broadly speaking, regarding care for people, the municipal accounts for this year prioritise children, youth, families, and the elderly through a series of investments that include improvements in educational and sports infrastructure, cultural activities, popular festivals and traditions, social centres in neighbourhoods, or activities in senior centres, among others. The budget of the Department of Social Welfare grows by 11%, and, as a novelty, two specific lines are included for birth grants (100,000 euros) and housing rental for young people (80,000).

The operating budget for Infant, Primary, and Special Education centres increases by 1.3 million to 14.4 million (+10%), while care for the elderly rises by 16.1% to 4.72 million euros this year. Similarly, support for vulnerable people grows from 2.17 million to 2.38 million, and social integration allocations rise to 6.84 million with a 19.2% increase.

The Councillor for Finance, Toni Gallego, explained that all chapters increase in 2025 within a budget that "remains expansive" and continues to develop multi-annual investments already allocated in the 2024 accounts. "The accounts align with the Multi-Annual Investment Plan, which quantified investments in 2024 at 50 million euros; those for 2025 at 30 million and those for 2026 at 20 million," Gallego explained.

Security and Tourism Promotion

Likewise, investments in the city's public security services (Local Police, Speis, and Civil Protection) are prioritised; funds allocated to street cleaning operations (22.5 million) and waste collection (18.2 million with a 3.7% increase), as well as allocations for tourism promotion (4.8 million, a 19% increase) and business development (1.9 million, with an 11% increase) "to strengthen our productive sectors and underpin the city's growth."

The budget project also provides for a 2.5% salary increase for the municipal workforce and two million euros for the development of the professional career of civil servants. "We fulfil the commitment to continue advancing in improving municipal management and the conditions of City Council workers with the provision of new positions in the RPT and the development of the professional career," Gallego points out.

At the same time, the Finance Councillor laments the impact of the spending rule imposed by the central government, "which constitutes de facto interventionism in municipal autonomy and limits the growth and development of cities by unilaterally setting the criteria for spending limitation in municipalities by the Ministry of Finance."

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todoalicante Alicante's 2025 Budget Increases Subsidies for Hogueras by 50%