The mayor of Tarragona, the socialist Rubén Viñuales, announced this morning that the city council is at risk of “bankruptcy”.
In his opinion, “the increase in the CPI, the increase in the price of energy, interest, inflation and the 3% increase in the salary of civil servants” are the possible causes of the economic situation.
During the appearance, Viñuales quantified the council’s problems: “As of today, to maintain the public services that are being provided in Tarragona, we need 14 million euros.”
“If we do not act, we may have problems because we will have to cut public services by 14 million euros,” lamented the mayor, who exemplified that these economic adjustments can affect benefits such as social services, libraries, security and transport.
Faced with this situation, and just before the appearance, Viñuales has already held a meeting with the opposition groups: “It is a problem that is not the government’s, but the city’s. And that is why a joint solution has to be found with the other groups”.
Along these lines, he has announced that, in the coming days, he will present a proposal for new tax ordinances to the plenary formations.
And this afternoon he will hold a meeting with the managers of municipal companies and autonomous organizations with the aim of achieving more efficiency in economic management.
The mayor has insisted that the council does not have the liquidity to meet current expenses, an issue that does not affect the city council’s investment policy, which is part of another economic item.
Viñuales has avoided relating this risk of bankruptcy to the policies of other past governments and has pointed out that it is “a structural problem that has been going on for a long time”, although he has stressed that it is a situation that this government “has inherited”.
