The Alicante Provincial Council is confronting a significant shortfall of secretaries-interveners, a gap that intensifies as four of the eleven senior staff in this role are currently on leave. This absence directly impacts smaller municipalities that rely on the provincial administration for essential support. In communities with fewer than 500 residents and budgets below 200,000 euros, the lack of qualified staff can block access to subsidies and stall ongoing projects, delaying progress that these tight-knit towns can ill afford.
Leaders across the council, under the direction of Toni Pérez, are actively pursuing durable remedies. In a proactive move to prevent similar disruptions in the future, the government board approved a clear, standardized set of job criteria to create a reserve pool of interveners. The objective is straightforward: guarantee continuous service to smaller councils when personnel are temporarily unavailable, so projects remain on track and communities continue to receive critical support.
General State Authorities
Marina Sáez, the deputy president of the Provincial Council and head of Administration and Finance, notes that with four out of eleven interveners on leave, the council has begun utilizing the Generalitat Valenciana’s pool. She concedes that the pool is stretched thin and lacks the staying power of a long-term solution. A forthcoming meeting with local administration director José Antonio Redorat is planned for late March to discuss renewing the pool and exploring additional options. Sáez emphasizes that there is no quick, magical fix for sudden vacancies, but she reassures that municipalities in Alicante remain protected and that urgent aid stays a priority as efforts continue to safeguard essential services.
To broaden coverage, the council has engaged with the College of Secretaries and Interveners. One practical proposal is to deploy personnel from the A1 and A2 categories to address the administrative needs of the smaller towns. The assistance provided to these municipalities, which do not house the secretary-intervener post themselves, encompasses legal guidance, economic and financial planning, urban planning, and environmental matters. This approach helps ensure that even the smallest councils have access to the guidance they require to manage complex administrative tasks and compliance requirements.
From the socialist side, criticism is vocal. Vicente Arques has held meetings with mayors and local spokespersons to address what he describes as a deepening crisis. He argues that the current administration, led by the PP, is failing to meet the needs of the smallest municipalities, which already operate with limited resources. He warns that these towns face penalties when seeking grants and signals that his group plans to file a motion at the next council meeting to address the issue directly. The message is clear: faster, more reliable support is essential to keep these communities moving forward and maintaining momentum in local development efforts.
During the most recent extraordinary plenary session at the Palace to approve this year’s subsidies, the socialist spokesperson cautioned that bureaucratic delays in grant processing could undermine the viability of smaller councils. He contends that streamlined, timely processes are not merely convenient but vital for growth and survival in communities where every subsidy can influence local development projects and long-term resilience.