The opposition feels “frustration and disenchantment” because “years go by” and motions approved in the municipal plenary session, sometimes unanimously or by a large majority, are never executed. This was told to LA VERDAD by the spokesperson for the IU-Vamos-Alianza Verde coalition, Pedro Sosa, who assured that in the last term the percentage of motions presented by his group and approved in the largest municipal representative body exceeded 80%, but only 20% were carried out. He cited among the latter the construction of housing for young people in the old town, the first block of which is scheduled to begin next year, or the prescription of the claim for aid to those affected by the earthquakes.
In the extensive list of the unfulfilled, some approved on several occasions and in different mandates, are the preparation of an inventory of public roads, a comprehensive action plan in the heads of the upper neighborhoods, the implementation of a regulation of citizen participation, the review of the municipal register, the preparation of a catalog of monumental trees for their protection or the creation of the mining museum in Almendricos. He highlighted that one of the motions approved unanimously was to follow up on the Plenary agreements but the thing has remained only in that agreement, there is no such follow-up.
The 25 councilors meet in an ordinary session once a month for at least four hours, each group presents three motions for debate, regardless of their representation, in addition to the initiatives of the mayor and councilors of the Government team of the party in power. Sosa acknowledged that “we spend a lot of time debating that it is practically thrown into the trash.”
Repeated approvals
Vox spokesperson, Carmen Menduiña, said that the execution of the agreements approved at the initiative of her group does not exceed 10% and demanded the preparation of an organic regulation of the Plenary in which compliance is established. Vox has twice achieved the necessary support to draft an ordinance that regulates the decoration and aesthetics of commercial premises, although “we are not aware that anything is being done.” The green light has also been unanimously given in the plenary sessions of January and November of this year to the implementation of a municipal suicide prevention campaign and there are countless motions related to improvements in districts that have not been executed. “It is frustrating,” said Councilor María Teresa Ortega, also for the neighbors who think that the approval of their demands in the Plenary will translate into their execution.
Among Vox's achievements is the application of measures to prevent fraud in the municipal registry of inhabitants and the regulation of worship centers to avoid inconvenience to neighbors.
During its time in the opposition in the previous mandate, the PP saw only 25% of its proposals fulfilled. Among the unfulfilled agreements are those to lower taxes and the 50% IBI bonus for taxpayers who installed solar panels in their homes for self-consumption. The PP also points out initiatives for the registry control ordinance and the modification of the urban plan to prohibit places of worship in commercial basements as achievements.
The PSOE, which was in government for the last four years, did not offer data on the approved plenary initiatives and their compliance as the list was “incomplete and not updated.”
Municipal sources indicated that compliance with the political initiatives of the parties is not mandatory; it depends on the final decision of the Government team or budget availability, if applicable. Yes, administrative files or procedures such as agreements, ordinances or budgets are.
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A regulation that has not seen the light for years
In 2021, the then mayor, the socialist Diego José Mateos, announced that a draft of the Plenary regulations was being finalized, since the sessions are governed by a 1986 state standard as they lack their own regulations. The draft was delivered in April to municipal groups for input. The current councilor, Fulgencio Gil, told this newspaper that his intention is to process its approval to speed up the debates and considered that this regulatory framework “is necessary” in the Lorca Plenary Session.
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