The plenary session of the municipal council of the Valencian capital approved this Monday, with the votes of the PP and Vox, a budget for next year of 1,250.9 million euros, with growth of 3.3%. The consolidated budget, which includes the organizations and companies dependent on this local administration, will amount to 1,415.3 million. However, the local corporation says goodbye to 2025 without approving the Low Emission Zone (ZBE) regulatory ordinance, despite the emergency motion defended by the opposition groups Compromís and PSPV.
Compromís councilor Eva Coscollà deplored the “incapacity” of the government team to manage clear revenues” and criticized the fact that it leaves underfunded “essential services” which are the “own and obligatory responsibility” of this municipality, while emphasizing that this “insufficiency” has its origin in “the 2023 tax reduction” defended by the PP. “They lower the taxes of those who have the most of properties and while taxes and rates rise to those below,” he added.
“This budget is insufficient, unstable, irresponsible and dangerous for the financial health of this municipality,” said Coscollà, who considered that it does not resolve “the real priorities of citizens.” He also regretted “the exclusive irresponsibility of the government team” with regard to the ZBE, with “tens of millions” of euros “at risk”.
Socialist spokesperson Borja Sanjuan considered that next year’s accounts are “a decreasing budgetary extension of what was with the previous progressive governments” of the PSPV and Compromís. “They don’t bring anything new,” he insisted. He also criticized the PP, when speaking of reducing the municipal debt, for not being able to “approve a ZBE” and prevent the Valencians from losing “150 million euros”.
The plenary session approved the bilingual version of the toponym Valencia/Valéncia, although the Generalitat has the last word. The proposal was to change the toponym of the city to the bilingual version in Spanish and Valencian, in the latter case, with the closed accent: Valencia y Valéncia. Thus, the name change proposed by the local government composed of PP and Vox was carried out. The proposal was rejected by the opposition, made up of Compromís and the PSPV-PSOE.
This question arrived at today’s plenary session after having recently been passed by the Commission of Social Action, Education, Culture and Sports of this council, which approved this change of name of the Valencian capital with the same vote.
Once definitively approved during this plenary session, the agreement will be sent to the Generalitat to determine whether this modification is finally accepted or not. The Autonomous Administration is “the body responsible for determining the official names of the municipalities of the Valencian Community”.
Socialist María Pérez resigns from her position as municipal councilor
Maite Ibáñez will become deputy spokesperson for the Municipal Socialist Group at Valencia City Hall, replacing María Pérez, who will begin a new professional stage in the business field, PSPV reported on Monday. Ibáñez, number three on the list that the Socialists presented in the 2023 municipal elections, has more than six years of experience in the municipal corporation, four of which in the government as head of Education, Cultural Action, Migration and Cooperation.
Likewise, he has “the support of the Socialist Party and has the full confidence of the general secretary of the city’s socialists, Pilar Bernabé, who will lead the Socialist Party’s candidacy for mayor of Valencia in the next municipal elections.” The minutes of Pérez, who will formalize his resignation in the coming days, will be occupied by Dolors López, who has a “long professional career”, underline the socialists in a press release.
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