The Plenary Session of the Pedreguer City Council approved the municipal budget for the year 28 at its ordinary session on Tuesday 2025 January. For the twelfth consecutive year, the accounts show a surplus thanks to economic management that has allowed liquidity to be maintained, debt to be reduced to 0 euros and suppliers to be paid in less than a month.
The approved budget amounts to 11.030.000 euros in both expenses and income and has been approved with the favourable vote of Compromís and the socialist group, while the Popular Party voted against. In this exercise, for the first time since 2012, income is expected through a loan intended to cover the municipal part of several subsidies. Among them, the urbanisation of the plot where the Residencia del Carme is located stands out, with a total cost of 616.052,42 euros, of which the Alicante Provincial Council, through the Planifica Plan, will cover 75% (462.039,31 euros) and the City Council will assume 154.013,11 euros. The renovation works on the Musical are also included, with an investment of 1.017.102,16 euros, financed with 272.320,69 euros from the Provincial Council's Planifica 2024, 500.000 euros from the Generalitat's Plan Conviure and 244.781,47 euros from the council. In addition, 50.000 euros will be allocated to the construction of two paddle tennis courts and 30.000 euros to the improvement of parks and gardens, a proposal from the Socialist Party.
The 2025 budget is 37% higher than the one extended in 2024, although it represents 1,7% less than the one finally executed last year. This increase responds to the adaptation of the accounts to inflation, the increase in the costs of services and the revision of the List of Jobs. Likewise, the increase in the price of waste collection has forced the City Council to update the corresponding rate to reflect its real cost. However, Pedreguer has still not increased the Property Tax (IBI), which has led to the need to arrange a loan to cover the municipal part of the subsidized works.
Despite this context, the City Council maintains its four main investment axes: social welfare, employment promotion, culture and education, allocating around 32% of the budget to these items. In addition, thanks to other additional income - such as subsidies, taxes on construction and works, urban planning licenses, state taxes and municipal rates - not only are these areas supported, but in some cases the items are increased. This translates into greater contributions to the Mancomunidad de Servicios Sociales de la Marina Alta (MASSMA), the Consorcio para la Recuperación Económica de la Marina Alta (CREAMA), as well as an increase in the budget for youth, culture and subsidies to sports, cultural and social entities.
In terms of personnel, a 2% increase in salaries for the entire municipal workforce has been contemplated. Likewise, Chapter 1 of Personnel increases by 5,28%, including the creation of three new jobs and the last phase of the increase in remuneration derived from the new List of Jobs approved in November 2022.
The budget also includes the three most voted citizen proposals in the last Participatory Budgets: the acquisition of a parking lot, the creation of a space for young people and the expansion of the Home for Retired Persons.
In addition to the approval of the budget, the first plenary session of the year also gave the green light to other relevant points. These included the initial approval of the Municipal Ordinance for the Abolition of Prostitution, the rectification of a material error in the agreement of the Plenary Session of November 11, 2024 on the modification of the Fiscal Ordinance for Waste Collection and the modification of the collaboration agreement between the Consortium of the Zonal Waste Plan Zone 6 and the Pedreguer City Council for the transfer of ownership of the ecopark and the land. These three measures were approved unanimously.
With these accounts, the Pedreguer City Council reinforces its commitment to financial stability, investment in public services and citizen participation, guaranteeing the sustainable development of the municipality in the next financial year.
