La Vila Joiosa approves 2026 budget with 23 million in projects

La Vila Joiosa has approved the 2026 municipal budget, a key document amounting to 73.9 million euros, including an unprecedented investment plan to boost infrastructure, housing, and basic services. The approval took place in an extraordinary council meeting held today, Thursday, where the Job Position List (RPT) and the specific modification of the General Plan in PP-1 Cales i Atalaies were also passed.

The local government and Gent per La Vila supported the accounts, while PSOE, Compromís, and Vox voted against. The finance councillor, Paco Pérez Buigues, emphasised that it is "the third consecutive time the council has approved a budget on time," a practice that "provides stability and predictability to economic management."

The accounts include 50.65 million in current expenditure and 23.2 million in investments, a figure that multiplies the municipal capacity to tackle structural projects. Pérez Buigues highlighted that the budget only grows by 1.5%, an increase lower than inflation, allowing "medium-term sustainability without raising fiscal pressure."

Moreover, all municipal areas see their allocations increased, "without cutting a single euro in services to citizens." Against the opposition's criticism, the councillor defended that "the alarmist reading does not reflect the reality of accounts that strengthen Culture, Security, and all essential areas."

The multi-annual investment plan, already incorporated into the 2026 budget, includes strategic projects for the future of La Vila Joiosa. All of them have external bank financing —which, according to the councillor, "provides certainty" in the face of spending rule limitations.

Mayor Marcos Zaragoza stressed that "the priority is for all works to start in 2026," both for their capacity to boost the local economy and for their direct impact on improving services. Only the development of PP-4, he recalled, "will enable land for 1,500 homes," one of the keys to orderly urban growth.

Pérez Buigues explained that, due to the central government's spending rule, the council cannot use its surpluses for multi-annual investments, "despite being a solvent municipality." Therefore, the use of fixed-rate bank financing "avoids stoppages and ensures that planned projects are executed."

In parallel, the council will continue to apply for grants, although the councillor noted that one cannot depend on them: "Grants are not a guarantee; requirements must be met and deadlines reached. Having mature projects is key to obtaining them."

The council also approved the RPT 2026, with the support of the local government and the abstention of PSOE, Compromís, and Vox. Pérez Buigues recalled that the document has the endorsement of the Negotiation Table.

Additionally, the specific modification of the General Plan in PP-1 "Cales i Atalaies" was definitively approved, with the support of the government and Gent per La Vila and the abstention of the other groups.