The Badalona government led by Xavier García Albiol has made its first forceful decision in terms of cleaning up municipal finances and the management of the City Council. One of the stranded issues was the debt of the Consistory of credits payable for 2016, 2019 and 2019, which amounted to 35.5 million euros. “An unusual situation when you have 144 million in the box without spending” points out the mayor, for which he assures that he will repay the debt up to 18 million, becoming one of the least indebted large municipalities in Catalonia.
One of the prerogatives granted by the absolute majority that Garcia Albiol obtained in the last municipal elections is to guarantee the approval of the authorization to promote an economic savings measure that consists of reducing the debt by 17 million euros through the remaining treasury. The debt per inhabitant in the city will become 77 euros per inhabitant, 8.89%, one of the lowest in the country.
In the case of Badalona, ??the mayor understands that “it is not justified to pay for investments with money from the banks.” With the reduction in debt, the municipality will save 600,000 euros in the first month of his term alone, a figure that can be used to promote projects in neighborhoods or to improve municipal facilities.
According to economic data for 2021, cities like Terrassa had an accumulated debt of 102 million, Sabadell with 75 million, 57 million in l’Hospitalet or 65 in Mataró, 124 in Lleida and 101 in Badalona. With the new financial operation, Badalona will have a debt of 18 million “that many municipalities would already want,” says the mayor. The fact of having reached this situation, of having money and paying for projects on credit, for the current government “demonstrates the failure of the economic policy” of previous governments.
