100 days: Initial balance

The municipal government of the New Majority in Sitges is now 100 days old. The celebration of such a symbolic anniversary is always a good reason to perform assessments and analysis, so citizens will be able to discern current strategies and the style of our local government. That’s why our City Council is in the right position to perform an initial balance.

We knew what we were facing. Each one of the thirteen city councilors that make up the government of The New Majority knew that the financial situation of the City Hall was a mess, not only that, they knew it was a very complex situation. The political parties forming the New Majority denounced the chaotic situation when they were in the opposition. The erratic policy of the former local government involved pilfering money and incurring into credit beyond the economic possibilities of our city.

The economic balance confirms our worst fears: Bank loans totalling 43 million Euros and an accrued deficit of 22 millions. The figures are alarming. That why our new government wants to reduce the negative impact of such a disastrous legacy. We are determined to do everything possible to solve the situation.

The are some possible solutions. Jordi Mas, Director of the Post of City Councilor of Revenue and Public Innovation, is clearly showing to all of us that there’s a way out of the tunnel. The renegotiation of debt covenants with financial institutions, the reduction of the municipal structure, the extinction of municipal societies and the strict control of all the expenses are producing the first positive results. The cash flow generated allowed the City Council to pay overdue invoices to small suppliers from Sitges and nearby counties, some were past due years ago.

In line with our strategy to overcome the financial situation that we inherited from the former government, one of our priorities involves insuring the maintenance of certain basic services for the population: garbage collection, street cleaning, management of municipal nurseries or the day centers for our seniors. We are dealing here with outsourced public services that were granted public concessions. The high level of debt incurred by the City Council with the above mentioned companies, sometimes reaching grotesquely high figures, have generated much concern among those companies and their workers. They were fed up and they did not want to continue their services. The basic services were not discontinued thanks to the negotiating capacity and determination of City Council, the public service companies and their employees.

The example of those three services illustrates the situation in which we find ourselves now. Just as in the case of the three companies above, there are many situations affecting small and medium sized suppliers. We are finding complex and irrational scenarios provoked by a large number of purchases or contracts that were impossible to implement.

Even considering that the priority is to find solutions to our dramatic economic situation, the government of the New Majority also has new projects and initiatives that want to improve the quality of life of our citizens, and to help to project a good image of our city and keep our architectonic heritage. The cessation of works for the refurbishment of Museums in those points disrupting with the image of our classical seafront, the actions to stop illegal flea markets on the streets, the improvement of beach services or the development of welfare policies are some of the actions promoted by the Government Team during the first one hundred days. During the coming weeks, we will publish our Executive Plan incorporating all the strategic lines of the present government.

Leaving aside public administration, I would like to mention another point that was important for me during the first three months acting as a Major. During all the day-to-day contact I maintained with people, public entities and different groups, I found that notwithstanding the current crisis, they all maintain their illusion in their collective projects and in the day-to-day interactions of their respective associations Modern day Sitges is the product of the richness of our civil society, one of our most precious assets.

A season of hope

The long touristic season is reaching the end. In the case of Sitges, our economic figures are slightly better than a year ago, but we are still suffering from the uncertainties provoked by the current economic crisis. Unfortunately, our country is taking a harsh punishment because the right decisions were not taken in time.

In Sitges, this summer’s hotel occupancy rates are slightly better than those of 2010. During June, hotels and camping had a occupancy rate of 75%, five points over the previous year; during July it was 83% (compared to a year-to-date of 80%), and during August, occupancy rates lingered at the peak of 90%. Figures are satisfactory and stress the vitality, power and the positioning of our municipality as one of the tourist flagships in Catalonia. Such a fact allows to hope for a better future. Some circumstances affected positively the results of the European Mediterranean coast, such as the current doubts affecting some consolidated markets in North Africa. But other elements escape from our grasp, such as the evening out of the Pound Sterling that scares British tourists away, or the bad weather during July. Such facts had a negative influence on final results.

The beginning of Autumn, and consequently, the Winter Campaign that arrives when the Festival ends, marks the start of a period in which the tourist industry will have to devote all their energy to keep their capacity. The current situation is quite complex, and we can’t still detect any change of cycle in the horizon. That’s why we are in a moment that requires the maximum cooperation among all the sectors. We need imagination and insight to take advantage of any opportunity, and we also need the necessary collective strength to maintain our stance.

The Government that I preside will not hold back any support to commerce, to the hotel industry and to the bars and restaurants of Sitges. The City Council’s financial situation is in dire straits, so the short term support will not be economical, but it can be implemented by means of other policies that can be equally beneficial for the sector. The campaign against illegal flee markets during the last couple of weeks –illegal flee markets brutally penalize legal local merchants-, or the improvement of beach services, are actions with a very positive effect on the local economic fabric.

The glamour of Sitges, a first class tourist destination during more than a century, will help us to face the future. All the above is very important, since it will allow us to have a controlled designation of origin. But currently this is not enough, since tourism and the service sector at large are perceived as a way of economic development. That’s why we must act in a more imaginative way, we must combine efforts and bet for quality as the best investment warranty for the future.

I’ll take advantage of my second entry in my Blog to announce that my weekly postings will be translated into Spanish and English. We want to transmit our message beyond our frontiers and reinforce our international projection.

Lastly, I want to express my sincerest thanks to all those that made possible the Festivity of the Verema during the last 50 years. Thanks to them, the streets of Sitges were filled with magic again.

I wish all of you a happy Santa Tecla, specially for the younger ones!!

Welcome to my Blog

Friends, I will begin my Blog today, 11 September 2011, National Day of Catalonia, just three months after my inauguration as Mayor of Sitges thanks to the Government of the New Majority. I am making use of this new initiative as a new communication tool with the citizens. I want to transmit them my thoughts about current news and issues affecting us, and open a new channel to reinforce the necessary proximity, a proximity that all City Council officers must maintain with their citizens.



The Blog contains articles and personal notes, but it will also be a tool to know the City Council's day-to-day activities. By the use of entries on social networks and the development of options provided by entorn 2.0, users will be able to get a closer insight into the day-to-day activities of our town. 
The first blog entry is the speech I delivered yesterday, during the institutional event to commemorate September 11 in Sitges.

SPEECH OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2011
Councilors of the City of Sitges

Former mayor Jordi Serra, former mayor Pere Junyent

Representatives of organizations,

Colla Jove de Castellers de Sitges
Escola de Grallers de Sitges
Dear Sitgetans and Sitgetanes,
Fellow citizens,



It is an honor for me to pronounce my first speech acting as Mayor of Sitges, in a day as important as today, the eve of National Day of Catalonia.



Tomorrow marks another anniversary of that date that has probably becomethe most important and tragic date in the history of Catalonia: that fateful September 11, 1714 when, during the War of Succession to the throne of Spain, the Bourbon armies invaded Catalonia, at that time Catalonia supported the Habsburg dynasty.



The defeat suffered that September 11 did not help to eliminate the desire for freedom of thousands of Catalans, such longing for freedom is still alive today. On 12 September 1714 began a long journey to recover our institutions and our national rights.

But today Sitges does not only wants to pay homage to the martyrs of 1714 who died defending the rights of our people, Sitges also wants to pay a tribute to all those patriots that during our history suffered persecution, repression and death for their ideas, just for defending what they loved, in this case, Catalonia.



Fortunately for Catalonia, the situation today is different from that of previous centuries. We have recovered part of what we lost nearly 300 years ago, but our long journey does not stop here.

Today our country is going through difficult times, many people from Sitges and elsewhere are worried for their present and future, they are suffering from the effects of the global economic crisis that has seriously affected our country. But we shall overcome. As President Mas stated once: "In our country we have enough talent, the required drive and the combined force of many people."



As Catalans, we must keep working and building our country using our identity as a platform, but at the same time projecting our country all around the world. We must paddle hard because we are facing a strong wind. The lights are still far from the port, but our crew is full of sailors with a firm and clear direction. Despite the impediments of the sea, one day we will see the port, and that day all the mist will vanish. But until that day arrives, we must remember and interiorize the words of the poet: "Now say, we will be forever faithful at the service of this town.

"

Sitgetans and Sitgetanes, tomorrow, the Moixiganga dancers will attend the institutional event arranged by the Government of Catalonia and the Parliament of Catalonia at the Ciutadella Park in Barcelona. The presence of Sitges will materialize with the opening speech extracted from the Third Modernist Festivity that Santiago Rusiñol organized in our town, and the solemn representation of the Moixiganga dance. Facts such as these rarely occur in life, and that's why I invite you to go there and enjoy the performance of our Moixiganga. I also invite you to participate in the Sardana Dance tomorrow night, our national dance. The dance will take place at Cap de la Vila.



Compatriots, the national holiday is a day to remember the noble history of our country, but also a day to continue claiming our will to belong to our town. I invite all to be so! As President Barrera, passed away recently, said once: "We are in a real hurry."

Thank you very much!

Visca Catalunya!


Miquel Forn i Fusté

Mayor of Sitges