The City Council of Dénia approved this week in plenary a modification of credits amounting to 1,4 million euros intended, for the most part, to carry out extraordinary measures to revive the local economy and employment. These measures have been agreed by the interdepartmental monitoring committee of COVID-19, which is made up of members of the government team, the spokespersons of the municipal political groups and technicians of the city council, and also collect contributions from the different associations and entities involved.
Mayor, Vicent Grimalt, has stated that, after a first budgetary injection of social emergency measures, "the most urgent and necessary", now there are going to be actions aimed at local companies and to promote job creation, "real and effective measures within our possibilities and our field of competence".
Grimalt stressed that a great budgetary effort has been made, "Since with the limitation set by the law of being able to spend only 20% of the surplus, we have had to make this credit modification in order to generate the necessary financing for these urgent measures".
Bases of consensus
On the one hand, the city council is going to establish financial aid for companies and the self-employed belonging to the commerce, hospitality, tourism and other activities sectors. The bases of the aid will be sent tomorrow to the Valencian Generalitat so that it can review them and report their non-duplication and they will be taken to plenary session when the Generalitat's agreement is obtained and the credit modification is definitively approved.
These bases have been worked on in successive sessions of the COVID-19 commission. Regarding the Occupation of Public Roads, they have also reached a consensus with the Association of Hospitality and Tourism Entrepreneurs (Aehtma), collecting some of their contributions. The Councilor for Economic Services, Paco Roselló, has highlighted that these aid to the payment of the public road occupancy rate and also to that of garbage are linked to the generation of employment and that the applicants comply with the regulations.
Modification of credits
Roselló has also explained that the 1,4 million euros to which the modification of credits that the plenary session will approve this week comes from the loss of some items of the 2020 budget, either because the destination of those credits is going to change or because the projects to which the items were destined are not going to be carried out this year in order to obtain financing that helps to cope with the consequences of the health crisis.
As examples of investment projects foreseen in the 2020 budget that will not be executed, Roselló has cited the change of floor in the Municipal Mercat, sewerage works, works in the kitchen of the residence or the works planned on the facade of the House of Culture. Likewise, funds have been obtained from unsubsidies to festive and sports entities for not having carried out the activities subject to the subsidy. Another part of the amount comes from the Department of Festivals and Culture, which have suspended much of the programming due to the state of alarm.
Aid for SMEs and the self-employed
This change in the municipal accounts will also allocate an item of 70.000 euros for aid to SMEs and the self-employed, as a complement to the aid of 128.000 euros that has been awarded to Dénia within the Plan of aid to SMEs and the self-employed by the Alicante Provincial Council .
The aid, according to the councilor and provincial deputy Óscar Mengual, will be granted to cover both current expenses (monthly rent of the business premises or expenses of the energy, water, telephone or internet supply contract) as well as capital expenses (loan for the acquisition of the business premises or commercial vehicles attached to business activity).
Municipal employment plan
Another of the fundamental pillars of the actions of the City Council of Dénia to mitigate the consequences of the economic crisis is the generation of employment. Thus A municipal employment plan has been designed that provides for the hiring of 22 people from the city with labor insertion difficulties until December 31, 2020, as reported by the Councilor for Employment and Creama, Sandra Gertrudix.
The initial budget of 100.000 euros to carry out this year's municipal employment plan has tripled and reaches 300.000 euros, which will be used to pay the wages and Social Security of the 22 people hired and to acquire equipment for individual protection so that they can carry out their tasks with adequate protection.
The bases of the Municipal Employment Plan 2020 are published on June 11. Applicants are required to be registered with the Creama placement agency, the entity that manages this plan, before June 10. About this procedure, interested people can call Creama Dénia (96 642 37 04) or send them an email to adl-denia@creama.org.
Among the functions that will be carried out by the people hired with the Municipal Employment Plan, the councilor has listed the care and information for citizens in public spaces and municipal offices; cleaning facilities and surfaces; public signage; or the maintenance of public facilities such as parks and gardens or urban furniture. In addition, workers will receive training on occupational risk prevention, with special emphasis on coronavirus; digital literacy, job search techniques or any other that favors their subsequent employment.
Of the 22 jobs offered by the city council, 5 are reserved for people in a situation of special vulnerability that will be derived by the municipal Social Services and another 2 jobs will be for people with functional diversity, the councilor for Social Welfare has detailed, Cristina Morera. Morera highlighted the social aspect of the employment plan and was congratulated "because it will allow 22 families in our city the opportunity to have a monthly income because some of its members have access to a job".
For its part, Javier Scotto, Councilor for Equality and Diversity, highlighted the municipal employment plan "which takes into account the labor gap between men and women and, therefore, opts for the prevalence of women in the event that members of a couple formed for a man and a woman choose a job. "
The councilor also stressed that the scoring of the bases will take into account victims of gender violence and, "for the first time", to people who have suffered hate crimes under the legislation.
