A new item has been added to the blog

On Being a Bédar Councillor....

2012-12-01T18:03:00.003+01:00

The last 18 months have been enthralling and very frustrating - being an elected Councillor for the municipality of Bédar. I never thought that I and Bédar Independents would create a revolution in Bédar, but I did hope that we could make a contribution to this beautiful area in which we live. It was always going to be difficult, especially for me - a relative newcomer with very limited ability in the Spanish language - but I think we have changed things. We have been able to call the Mayor to account for some of his policies, we have put down our own motions for consideration in council meetings (always rejected!) and we have tried to report council proceedings, express opinions and encourage discussion on this blog.

But I have to tell you that I have found the task getting progressively more difficult as time has passed. I knew from the beginning that my limitations - the language and political knowledge - were a handicap, but thought that with the support and resources that were on offer, it was worth taking the risk and having a go. However, I have found that, largely, more and more has been left to me and unless I take action, nothing happens. I don´t want you to think that this is just apathy - although there is quite a lot of that. Many who supported me are busy, creative and energetic people who have their own interests and projects. I have found it tiresome when approached by people who complain about any number of things in Bédar but who contribute very little, if anything.

The Council Meetings themselves seem to be a travesty of democracy. Discussion is limited. Only the Mayor and the opposition leader - Ana - are allowed to speak. The remaining members are gagged. If I have anything to say, it has to be relayed through Ana. At the first meeting the Mayor refused me a translator even before I asked, but it was hardly relevant - I´m not allowed to speak anyway! No meeting lasted more than 40 minutes and was usually much shorter - a few only lasted 10 minutes. Not surprising really when it is only a conversation between two people! There may well be a growing problem here for the Council and the Mayor. 40% of residents being "extranjeros" (most of whom are nowhere near fluent in Spanish) means that a large proportion of the population of Bédar cannot participate in local government. This situation is in the hands of the Mayor - he can change it or maintain it.

But let me get to the main matter. I have got to the point where, because of my limitations and the inadequacy of the support that is available to me, I can not responsibly perform the task of councillor. Unless I can do a job to a satisfactory level I will not do it. I do not think that I can carry out my work with integrity when the difficulties I have come up against are insurmountable. So I am resigning as a Bédar councillor. I do not regret having taken on the role and much of it has been - as I said at the beginning - enthralling, especially developing relationships with my Spanish colleagues and experiencing something of what it is like to be Spanish in these recessionary times.

I realise that my resignation means that there will now be no representative for the "extranjeros" on the Council in Bédar and (as I said earlier) we make up 40% of the inhabitants of the municipality. I do not believe that this is healthy in a democracy. I know there are some who do not think we have a right to a say in local affairs when this is not our country. There are others who are content to enjoy the wonderful environment of Bédar provided by our Spanish neighbours but feel no obligation to help and be involved. Of course, I don´t see it that way. There is much good neighbourliness here, but there are decisions being made by the Town Hall that will affect us all and to sit back in ignorance and let it happen is what we have tried to avoid. Yes, we live in a country that is not "ours" but in the new Europe we do have a right to representation and we do have a responsibility to assist with the development and running of our town. So I am asking the question "Are we, as the "extranjeros" who live here, failing to participate?". And, "Is the Council failing to find ways for us to participate?

You may be wondering what will now happen to this blog. Well, so am I. Our intention with the blog has always been to provide a balanced account of the proceedings in the Town Council meetings, to offer opinions, comments and to encourage discussion of local council policies. Thank you if you have taken the trouble to make a comment. For the blog to continue we need people who are interested in what is going on in the Council and who are prepared to take part in reading, listening and sharing the reporting of decisions and discussions. Without that I don´t think this blog has a proper function.

I will continue to take an interest in local affairs but in the short term I shall be "spending more time with my family"!!!!!!

David Horton

Aftermath of the Fire - An Appreciation

2012-08-31T11:34:00.000+02:00

We wanted to join the chorus of approval and gratitude to the emergency services for their highly organized and courageous response to the wild fires in and around Bedar last week. Most us looked on in horror at the devastation that was being caused to our community and watched with awe and wonder as the fire service, the helicopters and planes engaged in their struggle to overcome the forces of nature. We are fortunate to have these services so readily available to us in a time of such danger.

Neither do we want to ignore the efforts of the the Town Hall. We are hearing about the steps they are taking to assess the damage to individual properties and how they are giving advice on how to apply for financial assistence. We want to thank Ángel, our Mayor, who has involved himself in many ways during the fire and is now working with those affected to alleviate the situation. If you are affected and need help and haven´t contacted the Town Hall, then it is an option for you. Have a look at http://www.bedar.es/ and click on "Incendio"

As Bedar Independents, the opposition party in Bédar, we are often critical of the the Town Hall. But in this situation we want to give credit where credit is due. We will be attempting to monitor the situation as time passes.

If you have experiences to share, stories to tell or problems you face about the wild fires, then please make a comment on this blog. Just click on Comment at the bottom of this page. It may say "No comments" or say "comment" with the number of comments so far.

The Paralysis of Politics in Bédar

2012-08-29T17:11:00.000+02:00

After our last posting we received a very interesting response from Jeanne Henny which some you may have read. But we wanted to give is wider converage so we are repeating it on the main section of the blog. Does Jeanne reflect the feelings of others in Bedar? Let us know if you agree with her or not and make a comment.

By the way, Jeanne is the person who has arranged the "Eisteddfod in the Quarry" in El Pinar next Sunday (2nd September) at 7.30pm. It´s free and bring your chair and something to drink! Anyway, here is her comment on the last blog.

"Unfortunately the partisan politics in Bedar only reflect what is happening throughout all of Spain. This outmoded attitude of “you´re either with me or against me” in all levels of government appears to be paralysing the entire country as it struggles, unsuccessfully, to cope with the current financial crisis. The more enlightened attitude that “a government is only as good as its opposition” and that supporting good initiatives, whatever the source, can result in a win/win situation for all has yet to take hold here. Certainly neither the PSOE nor the PP appear ready to embrace this belief. If you belong to the opposition, any project or initiative that you might propose, even if it benefits everybody, will receive the kiss of death.

My advice, therefore, is to do what I did. Offer your projects and ideas to other places where they will be appreciated and where you have no political affiliations.

Every summer I bring over a group of young singers who need to broaden their cultural horizons as they gain more performing experience. We put on concerts and operas at no cost to town halls and have so far been more than welcomed in Almeria, Vera, El Pinar, Turre, Cuevas and Arboleas because we attract tourism, boost trade and bring pleasure. Bedar? I would not even suggest it because I am tarred with the opposition brush.

I got involved with local politics six years ago because I wanted to participate more fully in local life. We had many highly qualified, altruistic people on our team who also wanted to make things happen and were prepared to give their time and talent gratis for the benefit of the village. Unfortunately, every single one of our proposals has been rejected to date and they will continue to be rejected, even if the Town Hall has nothing else to offer in their place.

I was hoping to live out my life in Bedar but am now having second thoughts. It seems that the place will soon be a ghost town where, sadly, the only activity might be occurring at the projected tanatorio (funeral home). Maybe you as the present opposition should rethink your objections to its construction!"

Shocked by Last Weeks Council Meeting

2012-07-04T15:30:00.000+02:00

We were shocked at what happened at last weeks Council Meeting. (See below for our notes on the Meeting especially items 3 and 4.) We put forward proposals which were clearly of benefit to the people of Bédar. In the first case, the PSOE voted against and in the second they refused to give the motion support.

Can anyone help us to understand this? OK, so there are difficulties in protecting and preserving the Moorish frescoes but the Town Hall seems to have given up and seem unprepared for fight for the town´s heritage. But even more disturbing is that they refused to take up the initiative to secure the annual visits of the French geology students. Why? This project can only be of benefit to Bédar in generating revenue during the low season.

We could perhaps understand if the Town Hall were bringing forward other projects that would enhance the viability of the town. But no. Both the motions they presented - as on other occasions - were motions sent down from PSOE headquarters relating to national Spanish politics. Nothing was or has been submitted which demostrates that they are taking intiatives to encourage the development of the town and thus generating revenue for the local traders and inhabitants.

We know that there are cost implications to our proposals especially the protection of the frescoes but the amount of money needed to accomodate the geology students is minimal.

We want to be fair to the Town Hall. They have carried out a number of infra-structure projects that benefit the town - new roads, sewers in El Pinar, various upgrades etc. We don´t believe this is enough.

These are very difficult times and the people of Bédar need all the help they can get from the Town Hall. So why is the Town Hall not putting forward it´s own ideas while rejecting ours?

We´d love you to help us understand. Have we missed something? Please make a comment on this blog (see bottom of this page). Let us know what you think and, perhaps, help us to understand. You can either attach your name of write anonymously.

Notes from the Ordinary Plenary Session of Bedar Town Hall, 27 June 2012 at 8pm

In attendance were the Mayor, the Town Secretary, four PSOE councillors and two from the Opposition. The Opposition spokesperson, Ana Rubio Garcia, was absent. Only one person, the Opposition´s translator, was in the audience.

1. The Minutes of the previous ordinary plenary session (28March 2012) were read and unanimously approved.

2. The next order of business was the eagerly awaited response to the two motions presented by the Opposition at the previous plenary session in March. The first concerned the protection of the Balsa Alta wall paintings (see blog posting for March 2012 in the motion section)

The Mayor stated that he could not support the motion for two reasons:

a. The Moorish water tank and frescoes are on private property; the Town Hall only has rights to allow visits and to put up lights. To do anything more would require the owner to transfer the property to the Town Hall and the owner was currently not available.

b. A study had been prepared by leading archeologists in 2003 confirming that these frescoes were among the oldest known in Bedar and worth conserving. The study was first presented to the Bédar Town Hall which passed it on to the relevant department in Almeria, who had so far taken no action. The Junta´s last written communication regarding the matter referred to budgetary restrictions. The Mayor concluded that when current conditions had improved, he hoped that the Junta would take action on the matter but that Bédar Town Hall itself could take no independent action on the matter.

The motion was overruled by a vote of 5-2, with all PSOE councillors and the Mayor voting against it.

3. The second motion concerned the French University geological studies project (see blog posting for March 2012 in the motion section)

As the proposed first visit by the French geologists and students was scheduled for 2014, the Mayor suggested that the project should be left on the table to ‘mature’. He added that the Opposition should give more details and rethink the proposal in the light of the present economic crisis when taxes are being raised and fewer scholarships available. He said that for the time being, his team would neither vote against nor abstain the motion. No vote was taken.

Note from Opposition: The Independent/PP Opposition had been optimistic that this project would be supported by the Mayor as it was so clearly beneficial for the entire town. To have abstained or voted against the motion would have put the Mayor in a difficult position. By choosing to take no vote at all, the Mayor appears to have managed to reject an excellent project for Bédar without outright opposing it.

Furthermore, the project is now being offered to other town halls in Mojacar, Garrucha and Villaricos who have all expressed interest. Bedar has once again lost an excellent opportunity to generate local revenue.

4. The next order of business concerned one of two motions raised by the national PSOE party. The first involved upholding the present Vera judicial district. As part of their cost-saving program, the PP Government is proposing to reduce the current 431 judicial districts by half and amalgamating all outlying courts in areas of under 100,000 inhabitants. The town of Vera, with its population of under 15,000, would be merged in a district whose center would be in Huércal Overa.

The Opposition agreed that preserving Vera´s judicial district would be in Bedar´s best interests. The motion was unanimously passed.

5. The second PSOE motion supported maintaining the posts of ALPEs (agents locales de promoción de empleo) or municipal employment officers. Since 2003 Andalucia has been in charge of its own employment policies which aim to improve employment opportunities for the one million unemployed in Andalucia. The budget for this program was allocated according to strict criteria. This year, the PP Government cut the national budget by 59% putting the ALPE posts at risk. The motion called for the Government to restore the full budget to Andalucia and to protect the jobs of the employment officers. (There are 800 ALPEs in Andalucia).

The Mayor said that Ana Belen is the ALPE agent in the Bedar Town Hall and that her important work included identifying all the subsidies to which Bedar´s unemployed were entitled.

The Opposition again agreed that the PSOE motion was in Bedar´s best interests. The motion was unanimously passed.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:20pm.

Archaeologists and Geologists look to Bédar

2012-06-25T16:08:00.000+02:00

One of the oldest archaeological remains in this region has been found in an old Moorish watertank in Bédar. When archaeologists from the University of Almeria cleaned this water tank in 2005, they found fresco wall paintings depicting people, animals and other shapes and believe it dates from the 10th to 12th Century. The lead archaeologist prepared a complete study of their findings and a copy was sent to the Town Hall. Since 2005 no effort has been made to protect or restore the water tank. This is becoming more and more important in view of the fact that the watertank and frescoes are included on the Water Walking Route and more and more visitors are visiting the site. It is for this reason that we, the Bédar Independent Party, have put down a motion - at the next Council Meeting on Wednesday 27th June at 8.00pm - asking the Town Council to restore, protect and promote these ruins.

We have also put down a second motion. We live in an area of enormous geological interest. Now, we understand that scientists from the Henri Poincaré University in Nancy, France have been carrying out a number of studies related to the geological formation of Bédar and they are designing a project to bring 16 students and professors to Bédar every year for a period of two months to further their studies. We believe that this project will be beneficial to Bédar. Local accomodation will be occupied during the low season, their findings can be used for the promotion and development of tourism in the area and their interest confirms the enormous potential of the municipality. So we have submitted a motion asking the Town Council to begin whatever procedures are necessary (we name these) to ensure that the study project is approved and takes place.

Also the local PSOE party have put down two motions for the Council Meeting on Wednesday but at the moment we are unable to understand what they are proposing. The agenda items are very vague and we will only know more after our spokesperson, Ana, has visited the Town Hall to look at the papers. Unfortunately we get very short notice of the agenda before a council meeting.

We believe our motions are worthy of support by the ruling party and we are hopeful that they will accept them. We will let you know.

Bédar Development Workshop

2012-05-16T12:09:00.001+02:00

We have rearranged the date of the Bédar Development Workshop to the Sunday 27th May at 11.00am, in the lower room at the Town Hall. We are sorry if you were inconvenienced at the late cancellation of the workshop on the 6th May. The previous date clashed with the fiesta and one of the consultants had a family bereavement. We wanted to inform you on the blog but, unfortunately, David Horton was on holiday in the UK - having thought that everything was arranged!! - and wasn´t able to put anything on this blog. Many apologies.

Just to recap. This workshop is an attempt to understand what the council is planning for the future development of Bédar. We are putting on this workshop because the plans are complext and difficult for ordinary citizens to understand and will have profound implications for some residents. The consultants will attempt to explain the currents situation and answer any question of concern that individual citizens may have.

You can read more about the Workshop in our blog antitled "What Plans are there to Develop Bédar?" under "Bédar Development Plans" in left hand column.

What plans are there to develop Bédar?

2012-04-25T10:45:00.000+02:00

What plans are there to develop Bédar? Are more houses going to be built? Where? We may be in the midst of a very serious recession but the Town Council has a development plan (the PGOU). Do you know what these plans are? Do you know how you will be affected? Do you have a say in what is going on?

You may remember that in February we raised this issue on this blog - we titled it "Bédar Development Plans" (See side panel) and we indicated then that we were talking to some independent consultants about running a Workshop to explain the plans that the Council has for Bédar.

The consultants have now organised this workshop for us and it will take place in the Town Hall on Sunday 6th May at 11.00am in Spanish and English. The Consultants will be Gerard Vezquez, a Spanish Abagado who specialises in real-estate and planning issues; and Ronnie Howley who is a Town Planner and Geographer. Both Gerard and Ronnie are bi-lingual.

The purpose of this Planning Workshop will be to learn what the current PGOU is (Plan General de Ordenación Urbanistica) and what modifications are proposed. What the proposed changes will mean for the municipality will be discussed and individual homeowners will be able to raise their concerns regarding their particular situations.

So if you are concerned about the future of Bédar or are worried about what these plans may mean for you, then put this date in your diary - Sunday 6th May at 11.00am.

Mayor Responds to Employment Workshop Controversy

2012-04-02T12:28:00.000+02:00

The mayor gave a detailed response to our motion about the Employment Workshop at the Council Meeting last Wednesday (28th March). We had been asked by a number of unhappy residents to query the selection process used in choosing the students for the industrial boilermaking Employment Workshop. You will find a summary of the Mayor´s answers in section 6 of the notes on the Council Meeting that we have printed below.

We also submitted two other motions. One regarding a possible link between Bédar and the Henri Poincaré University in Nancy, France for geology students to study in Bédar, and another asking the Mayor to take action to preserve the newly discovered Moorish water tank and its fresco paintings near Basalta. It is considered to be oldest know remains in Bedar. There are details of these motions in a previous blog. The mayor decided that these motions were not urgent and referred them to the next meeting in three months.

Other motions on the agenda were submitted by the PSOE party and were largely about national issues that had a very limited relevance to the People of Bédar (Items 2,3 and 4). Item 5 was a technical correction.

Notes from Ordinary Plenary Session of Bedar Town Hall, 28 March 2012 at 8pm

In attendance were all councillors, the Mayor and Town Secretary. One member of the public attended.

1. The Minutes from the previous extraordinary plenary session of 27 Feb 2012 were unanimously approved.

2. The next order of business referred to a regional/nationwide PSOE motion to reject the PP-controlled state government´s royal decree/law 1/2012 of 27 of Jan which rescinded the previous PSOE government´s agreements on incentives and payments regarding renewable energy projects. The inefficiency of those incentives and the lack of an overall supply-and-demand monitoring system has been widely criticised in the international press. The latest PSOE motion underscores the importance of renewable energy sources in Andalucia and points out that rescinding the previously agreed upon incentives will reflect badly on Spain´s reputation for honouring legal contracts.

The Independent/PP spokeswoman argued that the motion was a national issue without implications on the local front. The Mayor argued the reverse. The motion was passed by six votes, all PSOE, in favour, with three abstentions from the Opposition group.

3. This referred to another regional/nationwide PSOE motion to withdraw royal decree/law 3/2012 related to urgent labour market reform during the current financial crisis. The Opposition spokesperson argued again that this was an issue to be debated at national level. The Mayor argued that the labour reform had local implications and cited cases where vulnerable sectors of the labour force, in particular pregnant women, had been summarily fired from their jobs. The Opposition spokesperson said that this practice had always taken place and was not a result of the latest round of labour reforms which allows business owners much more latitude in dismissing workers. The motion was approved by six votes in favour, all PSOE, and three against from the Opposition group.

4. This referred to a regional/nationwide PSOE motion to maintain the original calendar for application of law 39/2006 regarding assistance to dependent persons. According to the motion, some 43,000 persons in Andalucia require part-time or full-time assistance to carry out their daily activities and the proposed slowdown in disbursements would adversely affect both the caregivers´ livelihoods and those in their care. The motion was unanimously passed.

5. This point referred to a technicality in laying out the graphic borders of Sector 4 in El Pinar. A small corner of one property owner´s plot had been included in the Plan Parcial as belonging to a neighbour and the two property owners affected were in agreement on the error. The Town Hall was not affected in any way but had to carry out certain procedures to correct the error.

6. Under Urgent Matters, the Mayor decided that only one of the three motions presented by the Independent/PP group was urgent, namely that related to the Employment Workshop. He said he would deal with the motions regarding the French university study project and the preservation of the Basalta wall paintings as regular motions at the next ordinary plenary in three months.

As requested in the Opposition motion, the Mayor then explained in some detail the actual selection process for students accepted in the forthcoming Industrial Boilermaking employment workshop. First he said that all procedures had been laid out and implemented by the Junta de Andalucia who was paying the salaries. He said there was a mixed committee made up of civil servants from the Junta (2) and one from the town hall and that therefore the Junta representatives always had final say.

The Mayor said that the initial set of requirements were age (between 25-65 yrs); currently unemployed and registered as such; minimum of three months´ construction experience. All applicants were then graded on a point system, including factors such as previously related courses, whether applicant was handicapped, held immigrant status, etc. The Mayor read out the point results of the 17 persons who had been notified by SAE, the organism responsible for the selection, to attend a personal interview. The Mayor also read out the grades of the interview.

A final 12 students were selected whose names have been published on the appropriate regional bulletin board. The Opposition spokesperson said she was satisfied with the explanation. The urgent motion to provide details regarding the selection process was therefore unanimously approved.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Mayor mentioned that there were rules regarding where political signs could be hung during campaign periods. He said that he hoped that in future, these rules could be respected.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm.

Our Motions for Council Meeting - March 2012

2012-03-26T10:49:00.001+02:00

We promised to let you know the date and time of the next Bedar town hall plenary meeting. It will take place on Wednesday, March 28 at 8pm.

The Independent/PP group will be presenting three Urgent Motions at the meeting. There is one related to the Employment Workshop that we wrote about in the last blog for which we are asking for clarifications over the selection procedure. Another deals with a proposed geological study project from the Henri Poincaré University in Nancy, France, which would involve annual two-month stays in Bedar for a group of students and professors. The third relates to preservation of the fresco wall paintings at the 10^th to 12^th century Moorish water tank near Basalta which is considered to be Bedar´s oldest historical remain.

Below please find summaries of the three motions. Council meetings are open to the public and, although the Mayor has not allowed the use of interpreters, we encourage you to come to see how the town council deals with these and other issues.

I. French University geological studies project
For several years now, scientists from the Henri Poincaré University in Nancy, France, have been carrying out a series of studies related to the geological formation of our municipality. The group, directed by Christian Hibsch, a specialist in seismotectonic relations and sedimentation at the Faculty of Science and Technology, are designing a project whereby students and faculty members could come to Bedar every year. The proposed start-up date is some time in 2014.

Besides the enormous geological interest of our area and its proximity to other important areas of interest such as the Sierra Almagrera, Bedar has also been chosen because accommodation and other costs are reasonable. The project would require accommodation for about 16 students and professors for a period of two months each year during low season so that the presence of tourists and ramblers does not hinder their work. They will also require an office equipped with wifi broadband access, tables and computers.

We believe this project will be enormously beneficial to Bedar for several reasons. First, local accommodation during low season will be occupied for a period of two months. Secondly, their findings can be used for the promotion and development of tourism in the area. Finally, the project is quite innovative and the interest shown by the French scientists confirms the enormous potential of this area. Certainly we will be able to suscitate interest from the local press.

Although 2014 may seem far away, the Town Hall needs to start taking steps immediately to help make this plan a reality. They should begin looking at the possibility of requesting subsidies to finance part of the costs. They could also support the project by ensuring, for example, that restaurants and rural accommodation offer special prices to the study group participants who should be encouraged to do their shopping locally. The Town Hall should certainly offer the equipped office space at no cost.

We therefore propose that the Town Hall urgently begin whatever procedures are necessary before the cultural council of the provincial delegation of the Junta de Andalucia, as well as their contacts in the local press, to ensure that the study project is approved and takes place. We also propose that a working committee be formed to work with Christian Hibsch to create an action plan. Since this project could be beneficial to the entire town, we suggest that the working committee include members from both political groups so that all Bedar residents can be properly represented.

II. Employment Workshop

The Independent/PP group has received various complaints regarding the Industrial Boilermaking Employment Workshop over the lack of information in the selection and pre-selection process and the absence of public information over the results of the interviews and the grading of candidates. This absence of administrative transparency leads those who were rejected to question whether or not things have been carried out correctly.
There are explicit norms concerning the selection process of these Employment Workshops. We also know that we are not the only town where abuses regarding the selection processes have been registered. We therefore propose the following:

That the Bedar Town Hall publishes, either on its webpage and/or on bulletin boards, the parameters considered and the valuation system used for the selection of the aforementioned Employment Workshop, in a manner which can be easily understood.

That the results of the interviews and valuations of all the candidates be included.

III. Protection of Wall Paintings

In 2005, a group of archeologists from the University of Almeria cleaned the remains of a Moorish watertank near Basalta and found fresco wall paintings depicting both geometrical shapes as well as figurative representations of people, animals and other signs. The lead archeologists prepared a complete study based on their findings, a copy of which was handed in to the Town Hall. They proposed a restauration project at a cost of 54,484 euros.

This study confirms that the watertank is clearly an important remain and can be considered as the oldest known remain in Bedar. Unfortunately, since 2005, no effort has been made to further protect or restore the watertank although it is included as a point of interest on the Water Route which more and more tourists are now taking and therefore more vulnerable due to increased numbers of visitors or, even worse, possible acts of vandalism.

We are very concerned about the neglected state of this important piece of Bedar´s potential tourist development. It is our understanding that the responsibility, or at least the initiative, to maintain, promote and restore these ruins lies with the Town Hall, whether by seeking out funding directly or pressuring the relevant authorities to do so. We therefore propose the following:

That the Bedar Town Hall urgently take necessary steps before the cultural council of the provincial delegation of the Junta de Andalucia to immediately begin work to restore, protect and promote these ruins, providing the necessary subsidies to pay for the 54,484€ restoration costs. The Town Hall has previously applied for and secured subsidies for restauration work on archeological remains of far lesser importance.

That some form of protection and security be immediately installed, whether this be a cage or other construction, which prevents access but still permits viewing.

Angry Residents and the Employment Workshop

2012-03-21T12:04:00.000+01:00

We have been approached by a number of angry residents who are complaining about the selection process for the upcoming Employment workshop. They are complaining that they have not had an equal opportunity to be considered for a place on this Employment Workshop. This leads us to believe that the same criteria has not been used to apply to all the applicants, nor was the criteria made public. This appears to us to be another example of the lack of transparency currently practised by the Bédar Town Hall.

Because of these complaints, the Independent/PP councillors are going to present a motion at the next Ordinary Plenary Council meeting (normally the last Wednesday of March) asking that the Town Hall publishes the criteria used to select the Students.We will also ask if the selection process was carried out in the correct manner.

Anyone who is affected by this process and/or who is interested in how the Mayor responds is invited to attend the next Plenary session. As soon as they let us know the date, we will publish it on this site. We only get a few days notice!

A Mining Museum in Serena?

2012-02-29T12:37:00.000+01:00

It is now widely known that there is a project to build an “Interpretation Centre for the Mine and Water Routes” and, as confirmed by the employees responsible for developing the project, a “small museum”. The Independent/PP group presented a motion at the last plenary session questioning the choice of Serena as the location for the project, and gave the following reasons:

1. The road is not suitable for large buses and there is no parking in Serena.

2. The location is far from Bedar and other tourist sights such as the Tortoise House.

3. The renovated schoolhouse in Serena is too small for the proposed project.

Our motion proposed instead the area around Tres Amigos for the following reasons:

1. Easy road access and plenty of parking space for cars and buses.

2. Existence of historic buildings related to mining in the Tres Amigos area, including the already renovated Engineer House which would be ideal, given its historic importance, and large enough for the proposed project.

3. Tres Amigos is close to the Tortoise House and is the starting point for the Mine Walk.

(Before the motion was taken to a vote and overruled) the Mayor made the following arguments:

1. The Mayor said that since the people of Bedar had elected him at the past elections, they had given their “tacit” approval of this project which had appeared in his political campaign and this in turn legitimized the choice of location.

2. He further said he would be interested to know what the residents of Serena would think of the PP not wanting the museum to be located there.

We don´t need to comment on the absolute lack of real information over the project. And the impression we have that there has been little advance thought given to it or a viable overall tourist development plan for Bedar. To the Mayor´s question about the residents of Serena - what do they think about the Museum? Are you a resident of Serena? Let us know what you think. Also, what do the rest of Bedar think about the proposed museum being set up far from Bedar and the other tourist sites of the town. If you have an opinion let us know.

We ask the questions - Where are the answers?

2012-02-15T15:57:00.003+01:00

Last summer several young Spanish people from Bedar asked us to investigate the fact that shortly after the municipal elections in May 2011, a position at the BedarTown Hall had been created for a Romanian woman living in Bedar. They assured us that the nationality of the employee was not at issue. Their complaint was that the job opening had not been publicised as required by law and no one appeared to have been allowed to interview for it.

A related issue is the creation, following the elections, of a post known as Advisor to Immigrants which also appears to have been improperly publicised and awarded. The Opposition has been investigating this case but so far in vain.

A third matter relates to concerns raised by other Bedar residents over plans to build a funeral house by the cemetery. Their concern is that, even if necessary construction funds can be raised, the number of residents in Bedar does not justify the maintenance costs, especially when there is a funeral house in nearby Los Gallardos. Furthermore, according to the Town Hall itself, the site on which it is to be built is non-urbanizable.

On 16 September 2011, the Opposition submitted, in writing, to the Bedar Town Hall, a formal request for:

A copy of the organization chart (organigrama) of the Bedar Town Hall
A copy of the resolution naming the present Immigration Advisor (resolucion de nombramiento)
To see the dossier (expediente) relating to the funeral house

On the 30^th of November no answer had been received. We therefore discussed the matter with our PP advisors in Almeria who then sent a formal complaint to the Bedar Town Hall reminding them of their legal duty to respond. A day later we received the following documents from the Town Hall:

Issue 1. The Town Hall referred to the Minutes of the plenary session of 22 June 2011 where the deputy lieutenants for Bedar were named and sector areas for the five PSOE councillors were specified. No mention of other Town Hall staff members was made.

Issue 2. The Town Hall supplied a photocopy of the Minutes of the relevant plenary session when the said Advisor for Immigrants was named.

Issue 3. The Town Hall supplied photocopies of documents related to the funeral home project, saying that to date only the implementation project had been submitted. It added that if examination of the technical plans were required, that the Town Hall would supply same.

So after five months we were no more the wiser about these issues. We have since realised that our questions were not phrased precisely enough, thereby allowing the Town Hall to avoid giving us the information that we were looking for. We will now be resubmitting the questions to ensure there are no loopholes this time.
We consider it regrettable, nevertheless, that so much time and energy is being wasted that could certainly be put to better use working together for Bedar. We feel that the Town Hall’s attitude is disrespectful to the residents of Bedar in general and clearly demonstrates its position on transparency.

What plans are there to develop Bédar?

2012-02-08T12:33:00.000+01:00

Do you know what plans the Town Hall has for developing Bédar? They certainly have plans and they are likely to affect each of us, some very significantly.

Will they be building near you?
Will it be a sustainable development?
Will local residents have a say?

These plans are contained within what is known as the PGOU. Now what are these plans? We would love to know the details.

Item 3 on the Agenda of the plenary session held last Month was the motion to approve "Modification No 2 of PGOU and Adaptation of Normas for Bédar". After receiving her notification about the upcoming meeting on the Wednesday before the Council Meeting, Ana Rubio, the lead councillor for the Opposition, went to the town hall to research the subject. At the meeting we held before the pleno to decide on how we would be voting, Ana said she was unable to understand what the proposed changes would be and their impact on residents.

So at the plenary meeting itself, prior to the vote, we asked for the establishment of a Planning Information Commission which could clarify the proposed changes in a language understandable by the average resident. These information commissions are obligatory by law in towns larger than 5000 population so that Opposition parties can remain informed about the goings-on of the town hall. In Bédar, the Mayor refuses to form the information commissions, arguing that to do so would duplicate the work that goes on during the plenary meetings. We disagree since by the time the matters are brought up at the plenaries, after a brief debate, they are voted on immediately.

In the event, the Mayor turned down our suggestion, saying that these matters were quite complicated, therefore implying that they could not be made understandable. The only explanation he gave at the plenary was that because parts of Bédar are now included in the LIC (Lugar de Interés Comunitario – zone protected by the European Union which cannot be built on), they had been advised to make changes in the PGOU so that people whose land is affected can still carry out entrepreneurial activities. He referred in particular to the Department of Agriculture and Livestock without giving any further explanations.

As the PSOE has an absolute majority, the motion was carried by five votes to three.

So, we are now no more the wiser about what this item involves. I’ve been a town councillor for about six months now and I already realise that if you want to find out anything in Bédar, you have to take your own initiatives. Judging by the comments you’ve been giving us, I think I’m not alone in wanting to understand more, even if we’re not being invited to participate in formulating the changes.

Therefore we are currently talking with some local English-speaking planning specialists who want to arranging a workshop for all interested parties. The purpose of this workshop will be to learn what the current PGOU (Plan General de Ordenación Urbanística) and proposed modifications are, to discuss what the proposed changes will mean for the municipality and to answer any questions that an individual homeowner may have about their particular situation. We will let you know through this blog about the workshop details when we have them.

Notes on the Council Meeting - Jan 23rd, 2012

2012-02-01T10:07:00.002+01:00

As promised we are publishing below our account of the proceedings at the Council Meeting last Friday (27th January) We wanted to try to give you a full account of what happened and we have attempted to be as accurate as possible in our reporting. Consequently it is a long report of a long meeting! This doesn´t make for easy reading and much of it is not easy to understand, as the terminology is of a legal nature.So what we intend to do, over the next few weeks, is to take many of the issues raised in the Council Meeting and discuss them in this blog. So please, read on and then follow the story as it unfolds in the weeks to come.

Notes from Ordinary Plenary Session of Bedar Town Hall held 27 Jan 2012 at 7:30pm

In attendance were the Mayor, the Town Secretary, four PSOE councillors (one absent) and all three Opposition councillors. In the public were members of the local English and Spanish press (Costa Almeria News and Diario de Almeria) as well as ten Local residents mainly non-Spanish.

The Mayor first mentioned the copies of the “Guia de Concejal”, a guide for procedural matters for town councillors prepared by the Junta de Andalucia, which had been distributed to each councillor.

He also explained the delay in calling the plenary which represented the fourth quarter 2011 session that normally would have been held in the fortnight following the start of the new year. He said it was caused by the delay in the finalization of details concerning the employment workshop mentioned in Point 5 below on the Agenda.

1. The Minutes of the previous plenary of 25 Oct 2011 were passed unanimously.

2/3. Acknowledgement of the rulings made by the Court of Contentions No. 2 in Almeria and the Hall of Contentions of the Superior Justice Tribunal of Andalucia in Granada and adoptions of agreements for the execution of same. (Editor’s Note: Point 2 refers to a suit brought by several El Pinar residents against the developer of Sector 1 of El Pinar and the Bedar Town Hall for incorrect construction of the Junta of Compensation and other matters related to their “land grab” case. Point 3 refers to a suit brought by the same parties for allowing proposed construction in El Pinar on protected land. The court ruled in favour of the El Pinar residents and against the Town Hall and the Developer).

The Town Secretary said that the two rulings referred to suits brought by El Pinar residents Spencer, Bowling, et al and then declined to read the rulings out loud because he said they were quite long. The Opposition councillor then read a prepared statement with the following major points:

We understand that Point 3 deals with the cancelling of the Plan Parcial of Sector 1 in the planning of El Pinar and Point 2 with the cancelling of the statutes and governing bases of the Junta de Compensacion of the Plan Parcial…If the Plan Parcial is null, so too must be the statutes and governing bases. As to the cancelling of the Plan Parcial, we understand that this is because of the existence of a LIC (protected zone) which affects the Plan Parcial…

We also ask ourselves how it is possible that the PSOE claims to give so much importance to the environment and yet how it has failed here in practise. We wonder if they will remedy this situation where Sector 1 is concerned and we hope that in the future, the necessary importance to the environment and sustainable development is made, not only in words but in deeds…

We ask ourselves how it is possible that certain residents have had to fight for four years in the courts, as well as another four years before getting their matter to court, in order for the law to be carried out. ..Finally, we wish to congratulate those residents who have suffered and paid for these lengthy proceedings for confronting the administrative authorities – something we believe could have been avoided (from the beginning).

The Mayor then argued that in 1996, when the modification of the Plan Parcial related to the suits was made, there had been no regulations requiring planning procedures in LICs. He also said that only part of the land under dispute, some 600 sqm, was actually in the LIC. He then attacked, without naming the parties, the residents who had had the affrontery to build a home without a proper building license and who then requested their 3000 sqm to be removed from the Plan Parcial, thereby denying the town hall their just due in land appropriation and contribution towards infrastructure. (Editor´s Note: Watch out for blog postings - and possibly local press coverage - to further clarify the case and to rebut the Mayor’s accusations.)

4. Modification No. 2 of PGOU and adaptation of Normas of Bedar

The Mayor explained that given that parts of Bedar are now included in the LIC, they had been advised to make quite substantial changes in the PGOU so that people whose land is affected can still carry out entrepreneurial activities. He referred in particular to the Department of Agriculture and Livestock without giving any further explanations.

The Opposition spokesperson then requested the formation of a Planning Information Commission so that such matters could be made public and in a language accessible to local residents. The Mayor replied that these matters were exceedingly complicated and that he was sure the Opposition would ultimately support his proposed changes.

The motion was passed, five votes in favour from the PSOE group to three against from the Opposition.

5. 2012 Employment Workshop for Bedar

The Mayor said that Bedar had received a subsidy for approx. 276,800€ to organise an employment workshop in ecological agriculture and food preparation for 12 participants + instructor. The Opposition requested specifications regarding the selection process. The Mayor explained that procedures were decided by the Junta de Andalucia; that the selection process began at a national level; that the applicant had to make an initial application with SAE, to the relevant administrative body; that candidates who passed the first round would be notified in March/April to attend a second round personal interview.

The motion was passed unanimously.

6. Motion from Popular/Independent Group to change location of proposed Mining Museum

The Opposition spokesperson read the motion which contained the following main points:

It appears there are plans underfoot to establish a museum in the school in Serena…Although local residents have not been informed, we understand this refers to the ethnographic and mining museum previously mentioned several times by the Bedar town hall...for which we believe that a 60,283.65€ subsidy has been received… This sum should be enough to carry out the project but several problems remain.

We think the proposed location in the centre of Serena which can only be reached by a narrow, winding road and where there is a complete absence of parking space, especially for buses. This demonstrates that there has been no real planning related to this venture. .. This location is also far from the respective mining and water walking routes which Bedar is trying to promote as well as the Tortoise House… We also decry that no qualified locals were invited to participate in the original planning of this project although they have since been approached to contribute information. We also do not understand how, in these difficult times, no employment was provided for unemployed locals in regards to this project.

Based on the aforementioned arguments, we propose that the Bedar Town Hall reconsider the location of the Mining Museum bearing in mind the town’s future tourism needs, including the fact that tourists might also want to visit the town of Bedar, and so that local businesses and construction companies might benefit financially from the project. Also that the Bedar town hall attempt to provide employment for local residents during the creation of the Mining Museum.

In his rebuttal, the Mayor first attacked the new PP president of

Spain

, saying that for years Sr. Rajoy had been saying that raising taxes would cause more unemployment, and that now, after only 15 days in power, he had raised taxes. As to the accusation that local residents were not advised about the Mining Museum, the Mayor said that residents were first told of the proposed plan in the PSOE’s electoral campaign of 2007 and since residents had chosen him to be Mayor, that indicated that they had tacitly approved the project. He said that he had in fact approached several local residents, as well as a member of the Opposition group itself, to be involved.

He said the choice of Serena as the location for the Mining Museum was to revitalise the area. He said he would be amused to hear what Serena residents were going to think when they hear that the PP group doesn’t support the choice of their hamlet.

As to the accusation that he did not provide employment to locals, he then cited four names of residents who had been employed by the town hall for six months. He then added that roughly half of the 60K euro budget for the Mining Museum had been earmarked for works to renovate the old Serena school and that all contracts had been given to local tradesman, again naming the parties. He said the only work which had been granted to non-local tradesmen was making the showcases and this only because there was nobody in Bedar capable of doing the work.

The Opposition spokesperson defended Rajoy’s change of stance regarding taxes by saying that conditions had changed over time. Against the Mayor’s argument that residents had been informed about the project in 2007, she said we were now in the administration that began in 2011 and that information the Mayor was providing now would have been welcome earlier. Finally that the one area which was not mentioned in his breakdown of expenses for the Mining Museum was the information for the contents of the museum which could only come from locals.

The Mayor began speaking again about Sr. Rajoy and then interrupted himself, saying that it was better to stay on the Agenda.

The motion was overruled, five votes against from the PSOE and three in favour from the Opposition.

7. Motion from Popular/Independent Group to change location of Bedar weekly market

The Town Secretary read the motion which contained the following main points:

The current location of the weekly market blocks traffic to the post office, the school and even the town hall…Local businessmen have complained about how this affects their operations and have previously filed complaints with town hall, the last time in 2010 where they gave suggestions for suitable alternate locations for the market where nobody would be adversely affected. Both petitions were ignored.

In the meantime, one of the businesses, the souvenir shop, has been forced to shut down. This is particularly unfortunate given the ecotourism focus that Bedar has been trying to promote in the press and other media.

We also decry, in these difficult times, the lack of support from the Bedar town hall of local businesses, for example, when the town hall purchases products from outside suppliers for its fiestas and other activities, instead of those produced locally.

We present the following reasons, gathered from complaints of local businesses, as to why the location of the weekly market should be changed:

· Many delivery vans can’t reach the businesses when traffic is cut and cannot justify making a detour for just one delivery.

· Residents who find it difficult to get to the shops in Bedar will go to other commercial areas with easier access.

· Bedar residents with cars, especially the elderly or handicapped, are especially affected when normal traffic is disrupted.

· In the case of a real emergency, the blocked road could cause serious problems.

We propose that the town hall urgently:

· Returns the location of the weekly market to its previous location with improved organisation of stands and a requirements that the vehicles which bring the stands be parked elsewhere

· Moves market location to parking lot by cemetery which is both large enough for all merchants and still conveniently located

We also propose that the Bedar town hall henceforth give priority to locally made products when making purchases for its fiestas or other activities.

Once again, the Mayor replied at length to this motion, referring to notes on several occasions. First he maintained that Bedar has two main arteries and another seven access points, which he then named, asserting that in the event of an emergency, there were plenty of ways for traffic to circulate. He claimed that if the emergency occurred on a Wednesday morning, an ambulance could pass without any difficulty. He said that in the unlikely event of a major emergency, it would take only 20 minutes to dismantle the market, less time than it would take for emergency services to reach Bedar. He further claimed that it was possible for a car to reach any of Bedar’s public services or commerces, although he did concede this would depend on the size of the vehicle. He also added he did not believe that any delivery vans were deterred by the tiny weekly market.

He then went on to say that of course the town hall always supported the local market. He stated that he did not believe that the arguments made in the motion were the real issue. He explained how after each election, depending on the rise or fall in the number of votes garnered, it was necessary to analyse the reasons and to look at external factors. He then claimed that in the eight years since he was elected in 2003, he had granted work to 16 local companies for a total of 627,500€ or over 12 mn old pesetas per annum.

The Mayor then launched an attack on a blog posting, purportedly written by someone from the Opposition group, where the writer criticised the choice of a builder for a statue found in one of Bedar’s squares as evidence of the town hall’s unquestioned support of construction as the only viable future for the town. The Mayor said it was lamentable to ridicule anyone who had contributed so much to the growth and prosperity of the town.

The motion was overruled, five votes against from the PSOE to three in favour from the Opposition.

8. Motion from PSOE on supporting “Encamina2” plan (relates to Junta de Andalucia plan for the construction of roads and accesses to agricultural farms)

The Town Secretary read a prepared statement released from the PSOE regarding the arguments for this plan. The Opposition spokesperson said the group would be voting in favour but asked to know when the plan would be in fact put into place. The Mayor replied that it had only been three months since the plan was first made public and six months were allowed for its activation. He further explained that some 100,000€ were earmarked for Bedar which would be used for the access road from Los Matreros.

The motion was passed unanimously.

9. Motion from PSOE on supporting plan related to agricultural employment (currently PFOEA, previously PER)

The Town Secretary read a prepared statement released from the PSOE regarding the need for providing supplementary income to agricultural workers who were struggling to adapt and survive during these difficult times.

The motion was passed unanimously.

10. Motion of PSOE in defence of agriculture in Almeria

The Town Secretary read a prepared statement released from the PSOE regarding the unfair competition in agriculture from Morocco, Spain’s principal competitor, and in particular the practice of dumping produce at below cost. It mentioned that the EU was currently making a new agreement with Morocco which would further harm Spanish farmers. The statement concluded with several recommendations, including one whereby Bedar would agree to show its disapproval of the proposed new EU/Morocco agreement.

The Opposition spokesperson said that this measure did not affect Bedar residents. The Mayor replied that since agriculture represented one of the largest sources of revenue for Almeria province, the town hall was under a moral obligation to support the motion.

The motion was passed unanimously.

As there were no Urgent Matters, Requests or Questions, the session was adjourned at 20:45.

Editor´s Note: Readers should be encouraged to know that in the five years since this editor has been attending Bedar town hall plenary sessions, this session resulted in the most information that the Mayor has ever divulged regarding town hall matters, expenditures and other procedures. We believe this is because the Opposition group is now working effectively, raising concrete and specific questions to which the Mayor, in his zeal to defend his actions, can only rebut by giving real information. We sincerely hope that he will begin voluntarily releasing similar information of public interest, on a regular basis, without requiring the Opposition to submit written motions and questions several months in advance.

Pleno Meeting - Friday 27th January at 7.30pm

2012-01-25T18:01:00.008+01:00

Yesterday (Tuesday 24th Jan) we were notified of an Ordinary Plenary meeting of the Town Council next Friday at 7.30pm in the Town Hall.(27th Jan). We want to tell you what is on the agenda and, as far as we can, try to explain it. The agenda is always very vague and leaves us guessing about what is being proposed until we get to the meeting. We are able to access Town Hall documents to attempt to shed light on the Agenda, but often this is a very difficult task in the very short time available to us. We would like you to come to the meeting to see what happens. We want to encourage a greater participation in the way that our municipality is governed. We would like you to see for yourselves.

So here is the Agenda:

1. Approval of the Minutes of the previous meeting.

2. Acknowledgement of sentence passed by No. 2 Court of Contentions in Almeria. Ordinary Proceedure 602/2007, and adoption of agreements for execution of same.
(This refers to a suit bought by John and Joyce Bowling and Alan and Kate Keeling of Casa Tortuga, El Pinar, against the developer and the Town Hall for incorrect construction of the Junta of Compensation and other matters related to their "land grab" case. The court gave judgement in their favour and against the Town Hall)

3. Acknowledgement of Sentence passed by Hall of Contentions of the Superior Justice Tribunal of Andalucia, seated in Granada, Ordinary Proceedures 610/2007, and adoption of agreements for execution of same.
(This refers to the suit bought by Casa Tortuga against the Town Hall for allowing proposed construction in El Pinar on protected land. The court found in favour of Casa Tortuga)

4. Modification No 2 of PGOU and adaptation of Normas of Bedar.
(At the moment we are unclear as to what this means.)

5. 2012 Employment Workshop for Bedar.
(We believe that this will be to train metal workers to make boilers and other similar equipment.)

6. Motion from Popular/Independent Group to change the location of the proposed mining museum.
(We have put this motion forward as we understand that this is planned for an isolated location in Serena which lacks any parking facilities, has bad access along the narrow winding Serena Road and is remote from other facilities.)

7. Motion from Popular/Independent Group to change the location of the Bedar weekly market.
(We have put this motion forward at the request of local business people whose business has been adversely affected by the market in its current location.)

8. Motion from the PSOE on supporting"Encamina2" plan.
(We think this relates to Junta de Andalucia plan for the construction of roads and access to agricultural farms)

9. Motion from PSOE on supporting plan related to agricultural employment(currently PFOEA)

10. Motion of PSOE in defence of agriculture in Almeria.

11. Urgent motions

12. Request or questions.

We will be reporting back and commenting in this blog on the discussion and decisions that are taken on Friday.

Notes from ordinary plenary meeting of Bédar Town Hall on 28th of September 2011 at 20.00

2011-10-13T17:01:00.000+02:00

In attendance were all three Opposition councillors; all five of the PSOE ruling party councillors; the Mayor; and the town Secretary Juan Cintas.

The agenda items were:

1. Approval of the Minutes of the previous plenary meeting of 22 June 2011

The minor changes requested by the Opposition spokeswoman had been made and the Minutes were unanimously approved.

2. Provincial Plan of Works and Services 2010/2011 and other “urbanizacion” building projects in Bedar

The Mayor reported that some minor errors had been detected in the proposed Provincial Plan for Bedar. They have been rectified and sent back to the Junta.

3.Modification No 1 of the PGOU and partial adaptation of the Normas for final approval

As the Opposition had no idea what this item referred to, it was unable to make an informed decision and therefore abstained. The governing team voted unanimously in favour.

4. There were two Urgent Motions:

Pre-Plenary meeting with PP advisors in Almeria

2011-10-03T13:48:00.012+02:00

Three weeks prior to the 28th September plenary meeting, the Opposition team went to Almeria to meet with our PP advisors at their offices in the Diputacion (provincial government) building. Our goal was to find out how to go about solving the following issues raised by our supporters.

1) Employees of the Town Hall

a) Since the local elections in May, a new post seems to have been created at the Town Hall. Our supporters are asking what is this new post, what are the responsibilities, was the position correctly advertised and what are the qualifications of this person.

We are concerned because there appears to be a pattern recurring here where jobs in the Bedar Town Hall are not correctly publicised and other qualified Bedarense locals are never considered for the positions.

b) Why is it that foreigners in Bedar have access to the services of the "Advisor for immigrant Affairs" as a translator but the British town councillor, David Horton, is denied those same services at the plenary meetings or when he wishes to study town hall documents. Bear in mind that some 42% of Bedar voters are British and few of them speak Spanish.

Our PP advisors told us that Ana Rubio (spokesperson for the Opposition) needed to see Juan Cintas (the town hall secretary, an independent civil servant post) to obtain or request the following information:

· Who the employees of the Bedar town hall are and the exact title of their position in order to see if their activities correspond to their job description;

· To ask for a Resolución de Nombramiento (an official document) from which can be established whether or not the "Advisor for immigrant Affairs" can be required to translate at the plenary meetings.

Our supporters have expressed concern to know what access the "Advisor for immigrant Affairs" has to private information and documents. It has never been made clear what are the full functions of this employee in the Town Hall.

2) According to the BOP (Official Provincial Bulletin for public announcements), in an entry which appeared on September 6, 2011 but was originally dated August 4, 2011 and signed by the Mayor, the proposed tanatorio is located on non-urbanizable land. The public was given 20 days to make allegations.

Notes from Extraordinary Plenary Session of Bedar Town Hall, June 22, 2011

2011-09-15T15:27:00.007+02:00

After the inaugural session held in early June where most of the current town councillors were sworn in, this was the first working session of the Bedar town council. It apparently replaced the ordinary session which should have taken place on the final Wednesday of June.

In attendance were all three Opposition councillors; four out of five of the PSOE ruling party councillors; the Mayor; and the town Secretary Juan Cintas. Eight people were in the audience, including several members of the Opposition support team; several PP councillors from Los Gallardos in support of Opposition No. 1 Ana Rubio García; and María Dolores Castro Benavides (Maloli) from the town hall.

(As per procedure, the Agenda of the meeting had been distributed several days in advance along with the notification of the session and the Minutes of the previous session. At an orientation session held for new PP-backed councillors held in Almeria, Ms. Rubio and No. 3 councillor Sr. Cristóbal Castaño, reviewed the points to be voted on at the 22 June session and were coached on points of debate and how the Opposition members would be voting.

That information was shared at a pre-plenary meeting held on 22 June where the two afore-mentioned were joined by No. 2 councillor David Horton and translators. It was decided that as an “Urgent Matter”, a request would be made by the Opposition such that Mr. Horton be allowed to make arrangements for a translator so that he could understand plenary session proceedings and study town hall files related to matters to be voted upon.
Read more »

About your Padrón / Empadronamiento

2011-09-14T16:45:00.000+02:00

What is It?
The padrón is a record of your residing at a given address. It allows you to vote in municipal elections and forms part of your town’s census. It differs slightly to the electoral roll in Great Britain insofar as you do not need to complete a census form every few years. You are not automatically registered to vote because you have a padrón but you must have it in order to register to vote.

Why should I register?
A town cannot allocate adequate services and facilities if it does not know how many people live there. The number of inhabitants affects the local council’s budget for providing health centres and their staff, police officers, firefighters, post offices and their employees, schools and number of teachers, and so on. For each inhabitant, the central government gives 193 euros a year to the town council to allow it to provide these services, improve on exisiting ones, and generally enhance quality of life of the townspeople.

This means that in a small municipality like Bédar, where 900 people are registered on the padrón and 200 are not, local people are losing out on a whopping 38,600 euros a year which could be spent on improving local services.

What's in it for me?
Proof of residence means reduced inheritance tax, and if you are aged 65 or more, you get a free municipal bus pass. Once you are empadronado, you will be on the register until you move house and advise the town hall accordingly. However, a number of transactions you will probably need to carry out require a copy of the certificate you are given when you first register, and these certificates are only valid for three months. It is only necessary to have an up-to-date certificate in your hand if you need it to show someone when you are dealing with such transactions. To get one, just pop along to your town hall and ask for another copy, which they will usually print off in seconds. It currently costs €3 in Bédar.

When would I need to show a copy?
There are several occasions when you have to show a certificate of Empadronado

If you register with a doctor, you will need to provide your certificate of empadronamiento along with your social security number.
Anything to do with your car – buying one, particularly if a loan is involved; re-registering your vehicle to put Spanish number-plates on, or changing the documents into your name – or your driving licence, such as changing it for a Spanish one or renewing it if ou already have a Spanish licence.
You will need the certificate if you intend to take out a loan secured against your home, and may need one of your current address if you are buying a new property, particularly with a mortgage.
In summary, you will probably need to take a copy of the certificate along anywhere that you might need to provide proof of your address.

How do I register?
Go along to BédarTown Hall. Take your passport and original NIE number, or a residence card if you have one; a copy of your escritura (deed to your house) or rental contract, and your last utility bill, eg. for water, electricity or IBI. In Bédar it currently free to register and costs €3 to get a new 3 month certificate.

The information you give when you register is confidential and strictly protected by law. If you are a permanent resident in Spain (ie you have decided to stay here for more than six months, or live here for a total of 183 days or more per year) you must declare the fact by registering on the padrón.