Clear political division in the Maresme Regional Council as evidenced by the vote to approve the annual budget that amounts to 54,813,368.07 euros. A figure that represents a slight decrease compared to this year, specifically 112,309 euros less. The two government partners ERC and Junts voted in favor, who obtained the opposite vote from PSC, Comuns, CUP, Ara Pacte Local and Vox
The president of the CCM, Francesc Alemany, defined that “it is a containment budget” prepared in a climate that he described as a “perfect storm”, a whole series of elements that force the institution to maintain a financial balance that “adjusts the ordinary income to ordinary expenses” and in a transition year in which, according to the CEO of Governance, Internal Services and Human Resources Marc Bosch, “we will study and analyze the structure of the Regional Council and how to make the services we provide more efficient “. In this context, the regional government has prepared a budget that breaks a dynamic of exponential growth and adjusts its operation to “avoid having to resort to financing from the town councils.”
97.2% of the county budget is concentrated in the areas of Climate Action and Territory and Rights and Services to People. Thus, Climate Action will have revenues of 27,706,881 euros and the first of 25,586,959 euros. Governance, Transparency and Internal Services is the third area in terms of economic weight (with revenues of 2,692,550 euros) and finally Economic Development (1,826,976).
In the Climate and Territory Action Area, the great challenge for 2024 focuses on the new management of the Urban Water Cycle services: wastewater sanitation, drinking water supply and regeneration of treated water. The final choice of the form of management will mark the beginning of work for the future of this service.
At the same time, the processing of different construction projects will continue: the construction of the new wastewater treatment plant, the Àgora Parc WWTP (Tordera), the allocation for the expropriations of land from Terra Brava in Tordera and the EBAR in Arenys. of Munt, of which the procedures for the new construction will also begin. The budget also includes the corresponding investments to replace and improve the region’s sanitation facilities.
In energy matters, the roadmap is maintained to achieve energy efficiency and the use of renewable energies in municipal and regional agencies and by citizens in general. A novelty will be the future Maresme stream management master plan, which is currently embryonic, but is a clear commitment of the new Government.
The Area of ??Rights and Services to People will continue working to improve the situation of people in situations of vulnerability and/or social risk, and guarantee equity and the rights of citizens. Next year the number of professionals who, from different services, have reinforced support for town councils with less than 20,000 inhabitants and those providing direct care to people will be consolidated. It is also contemplated to prioritize addressing the group of homeless people, activating programs and resources in the territory, strengthening the service for the Elderly and providing more resources to services that focus their work on equality. To address the housing problem in the region, in addition to the ordinary services of the Regional Housing Office, 2024 will be the year of deployment of the newly created Assequible Lloguer Housing Management Service of the Maresme region.
In cultural matters, more Regional Archive staff will also be provided and in the area of ??Youth its structure will be reinforced to improve support for local youth services.
The Economic Development Area will continue to focus its work on the deployment of actions to promote and improve employment and the labor market, as well as the business community, with complementary actions to those carried out by the town councils. A novelty is the carrying out of a study on the “Territorial Diagnosis: New forms of management of local economic development and employment in the Maresme Region”, with the aim of detecting the occupational needs of the Maresme.
