The Yaiza City Council approved its 2025 budget this Tuesday, amounting to 31.1 million euros, 9.6% more than the budget for the 2024 financial year, “essential to continue developing municipal policies in culture, sports and social welfare, without neglecting investment in works and services that we will undertake with the treasury surplus of 22.9 million euros that we have already incorporated into the municipal accounts”, assured Óscar Noda, mayor and councilor responsible for Economy and Finance.
The budget was debated and approved in Plenary with the votes in favor of Unidos por Yaiza (UPY), which governs with an absolute majority, and the abstention of the opposition parties, CC, Yas and PP. Meanwhile, the representative of the PSOE could not attend due to illness.
Óscar Noda recalled that “Yaiza is an example of economic and financial management. We have never inflated income, we adjust to reality, and this is corroborated by the management audit of the Government of the Canary Islands. We comply with the spending rule and enjoy budgetary stability”.
Among other items, the City Council is committed to improving the maintenance and cleaning of gardens, allocating 400,000 euros to the area, committing 100,000 euros for dynamization events, a recently created department to promote commerce and consumption in local businesses, 130,000 euros in subsidies to sports schools, apart from aid to individual athletes and investment to promote sports events with economic impact and tourism promotion, and guarantees the money for the payment of all social aid and essential services such as garbage collection, “we have been doing so for the last few years and experience shows that the items are sufficient”.
The budget also foresees the reinforcement of personnel to optimize service to citizens and speed up procedures and files. The new positions of a public works technician, another environmental technician and one more professional from the general Administration are reflected.
“In Culture we continue our commitment to scenic works with our own funds, since we are still waiting for the supposed support promised by the Government of the Canary Islands that never arrived. Crafts, heritage, festivals and the different free expressions of art have a place in our open-door cultural policy, as does citizen participation”.
Current expenses present a significant increase of 13.39%, some 1.8 million euros more than in the previous budget. The mayor explained that the increase “is mainly due to the cleaning and maintenance services of educational centers in the municipality, as well as the cleaning service of municipal buildings, having to double the reference item”.
The council defends that "the administration is ambitious to invest the 22.9 million of treasury surplus". Children's parks, improvements in road works, sports and cultural facilities and the acquisition of plots and buildings for the improvement of municipal services are part of these forecasts. “Without compliance with citizen obligations it would be impossible to carry out our action plan. It is about reverting the contributions of our neighbors in well-being”, adds the mayor.