The Canary Islands Coalition Group in the San Bartolomé City Council, whose spokesperson is David Rocío, has shown its rejection of the recently approved municipal budgets, calling them "late, conformist, and completely detached from the social and economic needs of the municipality".
From the nationalist formation they lament that these accounts arrive "late and badly, after years of budgetary extension, following the path of other governments that have opted to delay the approval of their public accounts". "That there is finally a budget does not make it a good budget. Arriving late is not synonymous with doing well," states the spokesperson, David Rocío.
Coalición Canaria considers that there is a “profound contradiction” between the discourse of the governing group and the reality of the decisions adopted. “If these are social budgets, it is incomprehensible that cuts are made precisely in health, education, and social services, weakening essential services while strengthening general administration. That makes their true priorities very clear,” stated Rocío.
One of the most critical points is located in Chapter 1, relating to municipal personnel. In this area, the nationalists presented two amendments that were rejected. The first of them denounced the amortization of positions for labor personnel in key areas such as education, health, and social services —one in each area— for their subsequent creation in general administration.
“We are talking about decisions that directly impact people's lives. Home care, for example, has been showing serious deficiencies for some time: reduction in days, cancellations without prior notice, or absence of service. While families endure this situation, the City Council decides to further weaken these services,” denounces the councilman.
Local Police
The second amendment focused on the amortization of civil servant positions also intended to strengthen the general administration. Faced with this model, Coalición Canaria advocated for the creation of new Local Police positions. “Security continues to be the great forgotten issue. Current shifts are clearly insufficient and the municipality cannot continue operating with a staff that does not respond to its reality,” adds the spokesperson.
In economic matters, the nationalist group questions the announced increase of 3 million euros in the budget, calling it "misleading". As they explain, this increase is largely based on external income and increased tax pressure, such as the approximately 1.2 million from the Cabildo for the wind farm, the increase in the garbage tax, or "unrealistic" forecasts such as the increase of 206,000 euros in revenue from fines compared to 2024.
“You cannot talk about improving management when the budgetary increase depends on raising fees and taxes or inflated forecasts. That is not social policy, it is shifting the burden to the residents,” states Rocío.
Coalición Canaria also warns of the lack of economic dynamism in the municipality. “Our main source of income, the industrial zone, is not generating the expected development. More and more companies are settling in municipalities like Arrecife, which shows the lack of planning and attractiveness of San Bartolomé. Without economic activity, there is no possible improvement in income or services,” he explains.
Especially critical is the assessment of the investment chapter. With barely 1.2 million euros and no concrete projects defined —mostly intended for the drafting of projects—, the nationalists consider that the City Council "has renounced leading the development of the municipality".
“Today, the real investments that arrive in San Bartolomé are not driven by the City Council, but by other administrations. There are the 7.5 million euros for the Alexis Tejera school or the 900,000 euros for the reform of the Playa Honda health center. While other institutions do bet on the municipality, the government group remains without initiative or investment ambition,” Rocío emphasizes.
Ultimately, from Coalición Canaria San Bartolomé they conclude that these budgets reflect “lack of planning, absence of leadership and zero political ambition”, without responding to the real priorities of the municipality.
“San Bartolomé needs a government that prioritizes public services, strengthens security, revitalizes the economy, and leads real investments. This budget does none of that,” asserts the spokesperson.
