PSOE Councilor Ordered to Repay Wrongly Paid Salary

A court has ordered Priscila Díaz Bethencourt, a PSOE councilor in San Juan de la Rambla, to pay back 1,733 euros. This money was wrongly paid to her as part of her salary between 2020 and 2022. The ruling, which has recently become public, highlights that strict budget rules apply to public officials. It also draws a clear legal line between a politician's role and a regular job, which was a key point in the court's decision.

Ms. Díaz Bethencourt, a socialist councilor now in opposition at the Rambla town hall, challenged the town's demand in court. She and only one other party colleague, Gloria Méndez Quintero, chose to do this. All other councilors who received the same incorrect payments decided to return the money without legal action. A separate ruling, made public at the end of 2024, already ordered Ms. Méndez Quintero to pay back 1,799 euros, plus interest and court fees.

The issue began with salary increases: 48 euros extra per month from March 2020, and then 70 euros extra per month from January 2021 until January 2022. These raises were approved by the full council in 2019. However, a town hall order issued on May 8, 2023, citing Article 77 of the General Budget Law, stated that these amounts had been wrongly added to councilors' salaries. It demanded that all councilors who received them pay them back.

In court, Ms. Díaz Bethencourt argued that the town hall's order should be cancelled because of supposed procedural mistakes. She also claimed the deadline for the case had passed, referring to worker protection laws and disciplinary rules. But the judge rejected these arguments. The ruling clarified that because she is a public official, standard labor laws do not apply to her situation.

Despite the court's decision, the councilor has not yet paid back the 1,733 euros, along with interest and court costs. Ms. Díaz Bethencourt says she hasn't paid because, based on information from the town hall itself, she hasn't been officially told she has to. Between 2020 and 2022, when the salary error happened, Priscila Díaz Bethencourt was in charge of government departments like Youth, Equality, Women, and Senior Citizens. This was during the terms of mayors Fidela Velázquez and Ezequiel Domínguez. The order to repay the money was issued when the PSOE party was still in power in San Juan de la Rambla. The town is now run by a three-party coalition of Coalición Canaria, AUP-SSP, and Partido Popular.