Güímar Council Faces Backlash Over €6.7 Million Budget Adjustment Despite Comptroller Warning
The Güímar City Council faces intense criticism and potential legal repercussions after approving a €6.7 million budget adjustment against the formal warnings of its municipal comptroller regarding financial instability.
The Güímar City Council is facing intense criticism after pushing through a €6.7 million budget adjustment despite a formal warning from the municipal comptroller. Technical experts have cautioned that the move violates budget stability rules, leaving the local government in a precarious financial position.
The comptroller’s report is stark: the municipality ended the first quarter with a deficit of over €480,000, jeopardizing the financial plan approved last December. Officials warn that using surplus funds to cover day-to-day expenses will likely lead to a breach of legal stability targets, potentially resulting in legal consequences for the council.
The budget adjustment covers several controversial items:
- €515,000 to settle a court ruling regarding the Las Bajas slope project, a site previously linked to allegations of overbilling.
- €498,000 for emergency repairs following Storm Therese, though the comptroller noted a lack of documentation regarding prior obligations or payments for this work.
- Over €1.3 million for the waste collection service, despite the current contract being legally void.
Opposition parties have slammed the government for a lack of transparency and failing to justify the urgency of these expenses.
In response, Mayor Carmen Luisa Castro defended the decision as being in the "general interest" and denied that it would increase municipal debt. Finance Councilor José Miguel Hernández dismissed the criticism, challenging opponents to report the matter to the Public Prosecutor’s Office if they suspect wrongdoing, while blaming previous administrations for the cost overruns at Las Bajas.
Nationalist representatives have denounced the lack of financial rigor and raised concerns about the future of the waste collection contract. The ongoing dispute highlights a growing divide between the local government’s political agenda and technical warnings about the long-term sustainability of the city’s finances.