Orihuela Town Hall future in the balance

The future of Orihuela Town Hall remains in the balance

ORIHUELA’S Town Hall remains in a state of disarray as we enter 2012 as uncertainties continue to exist over the future of the major and ruling Tri-party coalition government. On the outside looking in, is the Councillor for the Coast Bob Houliston, who finds himself, stuck in the middle of the in-fighting between the Tri-party itself and between the ruling Municipal Government and the opposition Conservative PP, led by former Mayor Monica Lorente. Finally, after months of resistance to do so, last week he finally met with Lorente to discus the situation on the coast.

The last six weeks have been a trying time for the Municipal Coalition. Bob Houliston holds the balance of power in the region although he is now a ‘non assigned’ member of the Plenary which means that he is not attached to any municipal group and therefore he can not support and sign a “Moción de Censura” against the Mayor. He holds seat number 25 with the Coalition and PP parties having 12 seats apiece. In fear of a “Moción de Censura” being issued by the PP, which could have seen Houliston siding with Lorente and giving the PP enough of a majority to return to power, Houliston was expelled from the CLR-CLARO pact, and now is basically fighting on his own for the rights of the Orihuela Costa.

According to local newspaper ‘Informacion’  the Mayor of Orihuela Monseratte Guillen was very upset that Houliston because of a face-to-face meeting that he was to have with Lorente, which is surprising to many on the Coast, as he was expelled from the CLR-CLARO pact because CLR accused him of doing this exact thing, which Houliston has always denied! Guillen, asked Houliston to explain himself and apparently after a private discussion between the two, they left on good terms.

Meanwhile Guillen probably has more important things on his mind, including looking to find means and ways to stop cracks developing further that are dividing the Orihuela council between the PSOE and the CLR. Before Christmas her just managed to avoid a strike by the Garbage Removers and he has just announced that Water Costs are to rise in the municipality of Orihuela by7.5% in 2012, an average increase of about €30 per annum for a regular household.

Of more concern is another report in ‘Informacion’ which states that the Orihuela council has 700 employees who work a 35-hour week but they are paid to work 37.5 hours! Not a big deal except that after 35-hours employers are into double figures and paid overtime rates, which last year was an additional cost of €800,000! In essence, council employees are paid to work between the hours of 8.00am until 3.00pm but have been logging in an extra thirty minutes each day, adding up to 7,000 hours per month spread over the staff employed! The major concern is that this overtime allowance is costing the Municipal council 1.8% of their annual budget! ‘Informacion’ also alledges that some employees work even less hours, from 9.00am until 2.00pm during the summer months but are still paid their full wage!

Of disquiet to Guillen is that he has been in power for more than five months and yet his government team did not pick up on this matter, it only being investigated now due to the questions put forward by the newspaper!

In another cost saving measure, the Orihuela tripartite government, approved a motion that the city leaves the Consortium for Economic Development Vega Baja (Convega), arguing that it costs them money that the municipality can not assume. Councillor of Finance, Juan Ignacio Lopez-Bas, justified the measure on the needs to adjust the budget, cut spending, that they cannot afford €30,000 euros a year, due to the complex economic situation. In his opinion, Convega "has done little to Orihuela” and that the council is able by itself, to push forward job plans and projects, without the need to be part of this organization!

Back on the coast, Houliston remains in disagreement with his fellow councillors over the Municipal budget for 2012. He has asked for an amount of between five and six million euros to bring up standards in the region, especially for the infrastructure, which was not managed properly, according to Houliston. The budget for the Municipality is estimated  at 59 million euros with the Orihuela Costa only being offered two million of this for 2012! Thus, negotiations continue and although Bob Houliston my not be the flavour of the month among his former colleagues in power, he is doing what he was elected to do, and standing up for the rights of the residents and tax payers of the Orihuela Costa.

Keith Nicol