It was rather less than a year ago that the Orihuela Council promised its Districts a say in the decision making process with regards to expenditure. Over a period of a month the Department of Citizen Participation asked the 12 Orihuela Districts to prioritise a spend 60,000 euros each for their Neighbourhoods.
Overwhelmingly the Orihuela Costa asked for a pressure washer that could be used exclusively in the Orihuela Costa. The request was agreed and just last week the equipment was received by the mayor and the Councillor for Cleaning and RSU, Damaso Aparicio.
However now we see the council once again changing the goalposts in that Snr Aparicio is reported to have told members of the Spanish press that the equipment, despite it being won by Orihuela Costa residents in the 2018 Participatory Budgets, would also be used, if necessary, in other parts of the municipality.
The FAOC-Federación de Asociaciones de Orihuela Costa-Alicante, was quick to point this out to the councillor in a letter that they sent on Wednesday to the Department of Citizen Participation with a copy to the Road Cleaning and RSU, requesting clarification about his comment during the presentation of the new vehicles and cleaning equipment, including the pressure washer for Orihuela Costa.
The letter states:
We are forced to remind Mr. Aparicio that the description of our proposal for the new pressure washer was very clear:
“A pressure washer dedicated solely and exclusively to Orihuela Costa”.
The comment he made about the possibility of dedicating that pressure washer to other areas of the municipality when necessary is a clear violation of what the citizens of the X district of Orihuela Costa voted.
Our message to Mr. Councillor is clear: this pressure washer belongs to Orihuela Costa and, both this association and the neighbourhood, demand that the agreement be respected.
Unfortunately, however, the Department is unlikely to make any response without first clearing it with the councillor concerned and as he departed on a Mediterranean cruise immediately after the Plenary vote confirming council salaries that might not be for some time!
