The Government of Zaragoza has approved this Friday to send a formal requirement to the Provincial Council of Zaragoza (DPZ) to pay the 3.99 million euros corresponding to the fourth and final year of the 2021-2024 agreement signed between the two institutions. The amount should have been carried over during the 2024 financial year.
The City Council maintains that the provincial institution «has failed to comply with the third section of the sixth clause of the agreement», a situation that, according to the municipal executive, «has caused economic damage to the coffers of the Consistory».
The municipal councilor for Citizen Participation and Internal Regime, Alfonso Mendoza, has pointed out that «the objective of the requirement is that the Provincial Council enables the necessary credit and makes the payment as soon as possible». In addition, Mendoza added that «the DPZ now has one month to respond to the claim».
In the event that the payment does not occur, the municipal legal services will study the possibility of filing a contentious-administrative appeal for the «inactivity» of the Provincial Council and the breach of the agreement.
THE CITY COUNCIL DEFENDS THE EXECUTION OF THE FUNDS
The Zaragoza Consistory had already assured that «100% of the funds transferred by the DPZ for actions in rural neighborhoods have been executed.» For this reason, it rejects «the accusations of non-compliance made by the provincial institution».
The agreement contemplated a total contribution of 16 million euros, of which 12 million were intended for investments in the fourteen rural neighborhoods of Zaragoza. However, the Provincial Council did not transfer the nearly four million planned for 2024, so the amount actually received for these actions was reduced to eight million.
Faced with that figure, the City Council claims to have executed 8.1 million euros, including both pending actions from the previous agreement and new projects. The municipal government maintains that «it has justified all the annuities received and recalls that it could not accredit the one corresponding to 2024 because the transfer never took place». In addition, the Consistory has stressed that «the absence of these resources has prevented the development of some of the projects planned in rural neighborhoods such as Montañana or Juslibol».
In this sense, the City Council «has reiterated its willingness to participate in the Monitoring Commission of the convention, provide the supporting documentation and negotiate a new agreement that guarantees stable investments in rural neighborhoods». However, Mendoza has demanded that «the collaboration between both institutions is based on dialogue, institutional loyalty and the fulfillment of the commitments acquired».
