The province of Alicante has a healthy local public sector.. This was put forward by contest union Antonio Mira-Perceval, based on audited accounts of municipalities that presented very high treasury residues and positive budget results overall. It confirms that resource management has evolved gradually in recent years, largely attributed to the work carried out by the agency it represents, as well as to the coercive measures incorporated through various regulatory agencies. Changes. Despite this progress, he warns: councils still have a long way to go in terms of controll, mainly from a technological point of view.
Mira-Perceval attended the Municipal Forum organized by INFORMACIÓN to explain the work carried out by the Sindicatura de Comptes de la Comunidad Valenciana, an organization that he acknowledges does not have a very good press among governments. “We didn’t come here to make friends,” he said.most often this soot is used as a throwing weapon. We use it when we criticize others, and vice versa.” competence. Sometimes we will point out what doesn’t feel right to us, but also what is done right.”
Likewise, he wanted to emphasize that although the Sindicatura de Comptes has been in operation for many years, it is “a great obscurity for citizens and even for MPs who elect trustees”. In this sense, drawing attention to the prestige it has among the external control institutions, reminding that the European Union filed a lawsuit against the Spanish Government on the grounds that it falsified the public deficit,We were the only institution mentioned as it was pointed out by EurostatHe further stressed that it is a collegiate body and that since its inception, all of Mira-Perceval’s reports, except the report on the Blasco case, to which he dissented, have been unanimously approved.
Balance
After this foreword, he continued to analyze the situation of the local public sector in the province, which he confirmed to be healthy. Thus, with reference to the data of 2021, it is clearly seen that; Alicante city councils reach treasury surplus for general expenses of 654m eurosThe adjusted budget result was 230 million eight years ago, compared to 294 in 2016. While the current income per capita was 912 in 2016, it was 1,009 Euros, and current expenses were 859 while it was 732 in 2016. that is, the direct investment of the municipal councils in their municipalities, from 55 euros to 110 euros per capita.
Mira-Perceval stated that this improvement in the accounts of local organizations is largely the result of the work carried out by Sindicatura de Comptes and their coordination with the Court of Accounts to avoid conflicts. Thus, it stands out The institution saw that its work was strengthened thanks to the increase in its technical and material resources.it has made it possible to increase control oversights to such a point that “it is very difficult to find a council that is not obliged to analyze some aspects of its management.”
Also referred to regulatory changes that allow the imposition of coercive finesWe have the power to penalize any administration that fails to provide the required information. We have not applied any penalties at the moment, although we have initiated the proceedings.” Likewise, referring to the work of the media, he said, “Sometimes we avoided imposing sanctions because the issues were covered in the press.”
accountability
He adds that all this work has allowed the Community of Valencia to have the highest index in all of Spain in terms of accountability by city councils, currently at 91%. Same way, All consulates of the province submitted contract information corresponding to 2021..
Also for the Ombudsman this is the most important thing, it has been possible to verify it. municipalities improve control environmentsespecially with the nuance that there is still a long way to go in terms of technology.
Source: Informacion

Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.