The Arrecife City Council will be without an auditor starting this Friday, as the commission of services by which Francisco Javier Escalona arrived at the Consistory comes to an end, as confirmed by the mayor of the capital, Ástrid Pérez.
"His service commission ends on April 23, but since he was owed vacations, he has the right to take them," Pérez pointed out on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero, where she explained that now an attempt will be made to appoint a City Council official as an accidental auditor. The mayor of Arrecife affirms that they have been working "since October-November" to get a new auditor, but so far it has not been possible.
Specifically, Ástrid Pérez has affirmed that, "for the first time in many years", the City Council has presented itself to the national competition to fill the position. In addition, a request was also made to the Government of the Canary Islands, which was processing a file for job banks for auditors and secretaries. "Only the publication is missing, but unfortunately it was going to be next week and the administrative deadlines have been suspended," she detailed
An "unattractive" position with "little" salary
In addition, the mayor of Arrecife considers that there is a "problem" that makes the position of auditor in this City Council "unattractive", which is the salary. "The auditor's payroll is very low for the population we have and the complexity of our administration," considers Pérez, who although she recognizes that "auditors earn a lot of money", considers that in the case of Arrecife "it is little" compared to other municipalities "with less population and complexity".
For this reason, Ástrid Pérez has pointed out that, in the draft budget for 2020, an increase in the auditor's payroll is contemplated. "And now, what we will try is, among all the officials of the City Council, to request to see who wants to be an accidental auditor, because the person who was previously cannot be, because the Public Function says that they cannot be temporary, but public officials," she indicated.
However, until this happens, the mayor of Arrecife has assured that "there will be no contracting problems" since, by virtue of the state of alarm decreed by the Government, the "processes have been made more flexible". Likewise, she has affirmed that "current suppliers who have a contract will continue to be paid normally". However, Ástrid Pérez has specified that those who need the recognition of their invoice will not be able to collect until there is an auditor.
