The general secretary of the Femp C-LM, Fermín José Cerdán, said this Friday in Toledo a specific status for small and medium-sized municipalitiessince in most cases, They have the same obligations as adults municipal councils to … when it comes to presenting the same documents, within the same deadlines, with the same rules.
“A lot Municipal councils only have a secretary-controller or, with a little luck, an assistant. They seem overwhelmed», underlined during the inauguration in Toledo of the last of the five provincial days of the program “Administrative and budgetary foundations in small and medium-sized municipalities”, a training cycle aimed at Secretariat, Intervention and Treasury staff of local entities, and promoted by Cosital Castilla-La Mancha and Femp-CLM, with the collaboration of the Provincial Deputation of Toledo.
Cerdán recalled that this status “is a national issue” that must be addressed by the government and that local businesses have been demanding for some time. “From an office, it’s easy to put black and white, but when we come back to reality, we see that there are things that, no matter what we want, we cannot achieve. “It’s impossible.”
Likewise, he underlined the “essential role” of provincial councils, particularly for the more than 600 municipalities of less than 500 inhabitants exist in Castile-La Mancha. “Without the role of councils, it would be very difficult for many small municipalities to carry out their work.”
Among the conclusions of these sessions, it was revealed that there is a growing interest in the recovery of face-to-face training spaces. “Since the pandemic we have become accustomed to everything being online, which makes conciliation easier, but many lack direct contact, exchange of experiences with other colleagues.” It is for this reason that he announced that in 2025 the Federation “will have an abundance of face-to-face sessions”.
Transfer of skills to Catalonia
For his part, the president of Cosital de Castilla-La Mancha, Rafael Santiago, who also spoke at the event, evaluated positively that the “basic but very useful” course reaches “a lot of people, that’s what it’s about.” Thus, he highlighted the participation not only of secretaries, auditors and treasurers, but also of elected officials, which will make it possible to “maintain a fluid dialogue” to clarify doubts and explain the application of the rules.
Likewise, he expressed the concern of the entity regarding the recent validation in Congress of a royal decree-law which transfers to the Generalitat of Catalonia skills in training and provision of national qualifications. “We express our refusal to think about the equality of all Spaniards before the law. “We demand transparency and equal treatment, and we understand that this decision goes in the opposite direction.”
He also appreciated the validation of new tax rules that will make municipal spending more flexible, but criticized the improvisation in the approval of these measures at the end of the year. “It is very difficult to close budgets correctly when they are almost executed and it is then necessary to plan for an increase in salaries from January. “We ask for more coordination from the government with the autonomous communities and local entities.”
The president of the Toledo Provincial Delegation, Concepción Cedillo, highlighted during the session the importance of the work of secretaries, auditors and treasurers who carry out “a work that is often silent, but fundamental for transparency and legality. “They are the pillar of town halls”.
Cedillo stressed that the Provincial Delegation is “a council of town halls” and that nine out of ten euros of the budget are allocated directly to the municipalities, emphasizing that the technical assistance they receive “is essential to guarantee that public management is carried out with the greatest transparency”.
Finally, the Advisor for Social Affairs, Inclusion, Family and Elders, Marisol Illescas, stressed that municipal councils must be trained and “be aware of all the new developments, both legislative and in terms of the application of any rule”.
FEMP C-LM supervised these sessions as part of the formalized collaboration agreement with Cosital. This year alone, the Federation will train more than 17,600 civil servants, a figure it considers “very significant”.
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