Barcala Secures Approval for Alicante City Council's Financial Adjustment Plan

Mayor of Alicante, Luis Barcala, has received the final approval to implement the financial adjustment plan aimed at correcting the budgetary deviation recorded in the previous year's fiscal exercise. As anticipated, the municipal council approved the measure with the support of the Popular Party and Vox, while PSOE, Compromís, and EU-Podemos opposed it.

The officially named Economic and Financial Plan 2025-2026 must be applied after exceeding the spending cap by approximately 27 million euros. The government team highlights that it will allow compliance with accounting obligations while "maintaining investment pace, reducing IBI, and ensuring the execution of fundamental projects for Alicante residents."

This was emphasized on Wednesday by the Councillor for Finance, Nayma Beldjilali, who debuted in her new role, assumed after Toni Gallego's resignation, during the extraordinary session held in Alicante. The councillor defended that "the City Council is completely solvent with 155 million euros in Treasury."

The issue, she added, lies in "the Sánchez Government using the spending rule tool created for an exceptional situation, which is not the current one, to achieve budgetary stability it lacks due to its inability to approve the General State Budgets or balance its accounts because of all its commitments with its independentist and radical left partners." She also thanked Vox, with whom an agreement was reached, for "their collaboration and sensitivity to ensure that Alicante residents have guaranteed investments and public services they deserve and need."

The City Council will increase revenue through the waste tax, already planned in the 2025 budget, and will limit the use of the Treasury surplus for general expenses by allocating it exclusively to amortize financial debt and reduce IBI in the 2025 and 2026 exercises. Additionally, monthly monitoring and control reports on budget execution will be conducted, municipal sources state.

The Stability Plan, according to these sources, is based on a liquidation forecast for the 2025 exercise estimated at just over 85.7 million euros, where the limit of consolidated public financial debt would be 52,989,298.78 euros. This represents 14.99% of the estimated settled current income (333.5 million). With these estimated data, the spending rule would be met with a margin of 32,370,990.86 euros over the limit calculated from the 2024 exercise's expenditure, they detail.

Beldjilali emphasized that necessary credit modifications can be carried out to undertake projects such as the Babel Market parking, the rehabilitation of the House of Mercy, the regeneration of Almadraba Beach, works in the Sol Naciente area, improvements in Juan XXIII, and the installation of shading, among others.

The left-wing groups have harshly criticized the approval of the adjustment plan. PSOE's spokesperson, Ana Barceló, accused Barcala of relying on Vox and indirectly implementing the program of Santiago Abascal's party. From Compromís, Rafa Mas criticized the "nonexistent" management capacity of the Popular Party, which he sees as "surrendered" to large contracts and without maneuverability.

Manolo Copé, from EU-Podemos, who also expressed criticism, attended Wednesday's session just a day before starting paternity leave. It remains to be seen if he will be allowed to attend Thursday's ordinary session or if another potential legal conflict will arise if Copé is prevented from being present.