The Sustainable Vega Baja Waste Consortium, which is made up of the 27 municipalities of the region, claims it is owed 255,786.40 euros from the Orihuela Municipal Council in unpaid contributions since 2018.
The Consortium has sent a letter to the Oriolano consistory in which it urges it to pay the outstanding debts. These debts had been previously requested in documents sent in December 2018 and again in March 2020, but without response from the local government team.
The consortium body is in charge of managing the waste of the 27 municipalities of the Vega Baja and for the separate collection of special household waste through its network of ecoparks and ecomobiles. It is financed by contributions from the town councils of the region which make twice yearly payments, the amount of which depends on the size of the municipality and the amount of waste generated. Orihuela, therefore, is the municipality that pays the highest fee of more than 51,000e every six months.
The economic situation of the Consortium is not the most buoyant, largely due to the defaults of some municipalities, as is the case with Orihuela. It is ironic to learn of the debt considering that the Oriolano mayor, Emilio Bascuñana, is the current Vice President of the consortium, after the PP assumed control of the consortium at the end of last year and appointed the Mayor of Bigastro, Teresa Belmonte, as president.
The Oriolano city council owes five full contributions and part of another. Therefore, for the first semester of 2018, there is €10,004 to pay and for the second €40,034. In 2019 neither of the two annual instalments were met at a rate of €51,696 each and this year 2020 the city has continued on the same path with no payments made.
In total this is €255,786 that the Consortium is demanding urgent payment of.
“We want to express the urgent need for your deposit of the amount indicated as soon as possible, since the debts are overdue and the last contribution is close to maturity,” said the treasurer of the consortium in the letter sent to the Orihuela City Council last August, before the last of the contributions expired.
Justification
Orihuela Councillor Víctor Valverde justified the non-payment saying that “there are things that do not fit”. “There are figures that leap out of more than 20,000 euros in 2018 that do not fit our accounting assessment, and we need to try to clarify this”, he explained.The Councillor pointed out that the Town Hall is waiting to see “how these amounts that they ask us for that year have been accrued.”
However, the Councillor did say:”Our intention is to pay the consortium and we are aware that we owe money, so I hope to be able to resolve those doubts that we have in the coming days and release the payment.”