LOOK AFTER THE PENNIES AND…

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In the wave of transparency that sweeps through town halls, there are bound to be favourable results when the citizens of a municipality or town can see the good that´s being done, but it is also inevitable that some things that councillor might prefer to be hidden come to light, especially when public money is spent on what many could consider a waste, when public services face cut after cut, protests are aplenty, as the smaller man feels the pinch of the constraints implemented by government, but the financial waste might well become ammunition amplified by the highlighting of these facts by opposition councillors eager to score points off the carelessness of political rulers.

Torrevieja council is plagued by such opposition highlighting, though many would also say it´s their duty to raise these concerns. Paying 422 euro for a door handle to the gateway of the Eras del la Sal might be a questionable expense, but not so much as the tax payers of the city paid over 100 euro on heart shaped lollipops to give away at Valentine´s day.

More than 2,000 euro on makeup for the Three Kings could have no doubt been cheaper, as could the 2,800 euro bill for a tent to cover them and their pages for two nights.

The 3,000 euro bill for maintaining the engines on the Pascual Flores ship, nicknamed Pedro´s boat after the former Mayor was seemingly the only person allowed on the historic replica, might seem a waste, considering that she never sails anywhere, and may never sail again, given recent reports on how poorly kept the hull of the ship is maintained. She hasn´t actually moved since 2008.

The electricity supply for the other two boats in the floating museum costs 700 euro per month, which may have been acceptable for the residents to be paying, before the admission fee to visit the boats was added on top, meaning a double fee from the tax payers, unless you go when it´s quiet and free.

Quite how just short of 3,000 euro can be spent on carnival confetti might be a surprise for some, especially considering there must be reams of paper that administrators would sooner shred which could have been used.

It is reported that 30% of the entire budget of the municipality goes on salaries of town hall staff and councillors, not to mention that the councillors get free healthcare, glasses, dentistry, by free it means paid for by the residents of course, and how much carpet one councillor can buy for 500 euro must be enough to have saved to give the Mayor a bit of a bonus, after all, as he himself previously said, given his workload, he earns less than his cleaner.

Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/39530/

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