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The Consell Insular de Eivissa will have a budget of 120,210,058.76 euros in 2023, the highest figure in its history and which represents an increase over 2022 of 7.31%, i.e. 8,184,162.2 euros more than last year. The most significant increases in these accounts are the item for public transport, which doubles compared to last year with 9,378,021.81 euros, and that of the Department of Social Welfare, which with 33,186. 737.76 million euros, will manage a quarter of the total of these accounts, as announced by the president of the Consell Insular de Eivissa, Vicent Marí, during the presentation of the draft budget for 2023 held this Thursday at the headquarters of the island institution and which has also had the intervention of the second vice president, Javier Torres, and the Minister of Finance, Salvador Losa. In terms of investment, the island institution plans to allocate some 62 million euros, 50 million of which will be used for 27 projects from the remaining funds.
Marí explained that the new situation resulting from the structural crisis caused by the invasion of Ukraine and the rising cost of fuel and supplies, which have led to a rise in inflation and the cost of living, “has led this Consell Insular de Eivissa to set clear priorities to ensure the welfare of the island’s citizens, carrying out its work as a social government, committed to strategic sectors, working hard for social cohesion and the economic, cultural, sporting and future development of the island”. For this reason, the 2022 draft budget allocates “more resources than ever to public transport and social welfare, and includes key investments quantified at around 62 million euros,” said the president of the Consell Insular de Eivissa.
Second Vice-President Javier Torres explained that the doubling of the budget allocated to the Department of Transport, from 5.7 to 9.4 million euros in one year, shows that this government team is continuing on its path towards a city model based on sustainability, savings for families and new models of mobility. “The new Transport Plan, which will be implemented in 2023, will mean a before and after for Eivissa, both for residents and visitors, who will enjoy a renewed and modern fleet of buses with new frequencies and more stops, and which will once again be free of charge for users,” said Torres, who added that this budget item will also continue with the implementation of measures to improve the current bus service.
With regard to the next most important item in the 2023 accounts, Social Welfare, the island’s Minister of Finance detailed that with 33,186,737.76 million euros, the priority has been set as the social promotion of our island, strengthening the attention to the most disadvantaged with significant increases in welfare services compared to 2022. Specifically, there is a 13% increase in social services, a 21.4% increase in transfers to town councils for social care, a 24.59% increase in care for minors, a 12.31% increase in the Women’s Office, a 9.09% increase in care for diversity, and 1.5 million euros are allocated to the low-demand centre of sa Joveria. In addition, the 2023 budget also includes 1.5 million euros from surplus funds for the low-demand centre in es Gorg.
Next, regarding the expenses, Losa stressed that the Consell de Ibiza will assume the free island nursery schools, and more than 4 million euros will be allocated to maintain the exceptionality of the lowering of manure rates of the five town halls (in this case, 7 million euros for municipal cooperation, including 3 million euros for the municipal cooperation programme, Plan 5, and 1.5 million euros to comply with the Law of Capitality.
With regard to the projects that will receive investments with their own funds and surplus funds, the following stand out, among others: the drafting of the construction project for the new Official Language School, the reform of the Guardia building and the execution of work on the Ibanat building for 1,829,112.50 euros, the 4,000,000 euros planned for the acquisition of cultural spaces, the improvement and refurbishment of Ca na Negreta for 4. 000,000, the closure of the Ca na Putxa warehouse for 7,000,000 euros, the remodelling of the Eivissa waste transfer station for 2,042,238.23 euros, the construction of the sa Blanca Dona Multidisciplinary Sports Centre and the sa Coma Motor Park, 600,000 euros, and, among others, the lighting and sound system for the sa Blanca Dona sports centre for 1,300,000 euros.
The press conference also showed the evolution over the last few years of the budget execution of previous years. “It is not only important to show the budget figures, but also to apply and execute them. This government team shows with this roadmap, our political will and declaration of intentions, but that is nothing if there is no execution. In 2020 and 2021 we already executed more than 100 million euros and in 2022 the figure will be similar,” Torres assured.
Finally, the president of the Consell Insular de Eivissa remarked that the budget for 2023 is an “economic, rigorous and executable” project. “The accounts for next year reinforce the attention to the most vulnerable and represent a clear commitment to a more efficient public transport. In short, they are realistic budgets that are committed to the citizens and that include double the amount of investment compared to last year: from around 30 million euros we will increase to 62 million euros in 2023, and this shows a clear political will to contribute to the improvement of our island,” concluded Marí.