Edition 96
www.thecourier.es
Friday, December 21, 2012
SAN FULGENCIO’S €500,000 COUNCIL I did not conceal pay rises, insists under-fire Mayor By HEIDI WARDMAN O P P O S I T I O N Councillors in San Fulgencio are fuming over pay increments supposedly promised to Council members. Representatives of the APSFU and PSOE have accused the Mayor, Carlos Ramírez, of ignoring austerity measures handed down to local councils by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, suggesting that Ramirez (pictured) has approved a number of staffing payments for his cabinet. According to the complainants, the official bulletin for Alicante Province posted on December 4 reveals a pay
increase for the Councillor for Fiestas, Health and Social Services, Conception Castell Espinosa. And they claim she is “being paid
€2,100 per month, plus two months bonus pay per year”. Opposition councillors accuse the Mayor of attempting to conceal the pay increase, which was approved on May 15, by omitting it from the Official Provincial Bulletin (BOP) until this month. They maintain: “The annual payroll for San Fulgencio councillors and their personal assistants is now more than €500,000.” The opposition parties also highlight the matter of a news editor who reportedly receives €9,480 per year for journalistic services offered to the council Press Office. They claim his contributions are “pure propaganda, reporting for the PP Mayor in a national Spanish newspa-
per”. They also refer to a monthly payment of €2,323 made to a doorman for the outdoor sports facility in La Marina Urbanisation. The employee was allegedly “a member of the local election committee of the PP party and voted in favour of Carlos Ramírez as candidate for Mayor just before last year’s elections”. Finally, party representatives say there has been continued unrest within the San Fulgencio local government team following the resignation in November of María Asunción Prieto, who is said to have suffered “insurmountable differences with the PP Mayor”. Mayor Ramírez denies the allegations and claims that the figures posed by the opposition councillors are completely incorrect, including that referring to personnel payroll costs. He argues that “the total
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PAWS BARES CLAWS IN BITTER FAREWELL PAWS Animal Rescue said its final farewell this week – with a swipe at event organisers who use charities to put bums on seats. In an unsigned email to the press, the organisation announced its closure “with great sadness and regret’’ and thanked everyone who purchased tickets for the Red and Gold Ball, the proceeds of which they and their supporters had understood were for Paws. “The ball was a 200 persons x 5 euros sell-out,’’ they wrote. “We received only 450 euros as a result of the raffle. €1,000 from the seat sales was withheld by the organiser and entertainers, with no reason given. The venue was free for which we thank Marjal. “We urge all charities to think twice before allowing their name to be used to put bottoms on seats, when they will receive only a small percentage of the total raised! Please support your favourite charity by making purchases in their shops, or by direct donation. Make your money count!!’’ The email said there were two reasons for the demise
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The Courier would like to wish all our readers and advertisers a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year. Please note that there will be no Courier next week due to the holidays.