The City Hall obtained the first positive economic results

Past week, we had the pleasure of reporting the first positive economic results in the City Hall’s finances. For the first time in almost two years, when we constituted the new Government of Sitges, we were able to issue moderately positive financial reports concerning the economic condition of the City Hall: we extinguished the inherited deficit of 22 millions, we achieved net savings up to 4 million Euros during the previous accounting period and the City Hall’s global debt was reduced by 17 million Euros.

Are we supposed to be happy because of such figures? No way. The financial situation of the City Hall is still a real mess and requires correcting measures. But the figures are also good news, because we went from the horrendous financial mess inherited from the previous coalition to a financial situation in the process of recovery. The recovery is slow, but is taking speed progressively.

In July 2011, the City Hall’s financial situation was in dire straits. The situation was frankly appalling. During years, the previous government overspent wildly over their financial possibilities, and their economical and budgetary policy was totally insane. One of our main goals when we won elections was to correct the financial mess and remove the overspending trend. If we had acted otherwise, the City Hall would be entirely broke by now.

Two years ago, any supplier having deals with the City Hall had to wait 24 months to collect their invoices. Currently, just 4 months. Can you imagine what such a long term involved to any supplier selling products or services to the City Hall? Can you imagine suppliers waiting 24 months for their money in a period in which financial institutions did not grant any credit?

Two years ago, there were suppliers that avoided working for the City Hall. Such fact affected current services such as the gas of Local Police or the paint for traffic signals. Such a thing does not happen anymore.

The financial and economical state of the City Hall is still in bad shape, but shows a positive evolution. The measures to reduce and control investments and the imposition of a stricter budgetary control, allowed the City Hall to crawl out from under a failed legacy and look into the future with confidence. This is the only way possible to develop a Sitges for the people.

Along these lines, the commitment obtained from people was a determining factor. The suppliers reduced their budgets, social organizations grasped the rare economical environment affecting us all, and City Hall workers adapted themselves to the new situation. Such a collective effort, to which we must add some unpleasant measures, such as the increase of specific rates and fees, is yielding good results.

And such good results benefit not only municipal finances, but also the whole municipality. For this reason, we felt optimistic enough to announce measures to reduce tax burden on the budget and taxes in 2014. Next year, we will reduce the garbage fee in half and gains tax by 45%.  And in the coming months, we will determine a reduction in property tax (IBI). Meanwhile, social and support policies directed at people and economic development will have more resources and capabilities.

Expenditure control continues to be a central policy of the municipal government. This responsible manner of using public money will allow us to maintain confidence in our future.

Museums of Sitges: respect for our legacy, projection into the future

The works at Cau Ferrat are entering in their final stretch. The works on the structural reform of the building are practically over and technicians and workers are currently working on the interior restoration: stained glass, tiles, flooring, ceramics, wall paintings, etc. All are vital aspects if we want Cau Ferrat to recover the spirit of 1933 - when it was opened, and to become again the temple of modernism devised by Santiago Rusiñol.

For the Government of Sitges, the preservation and protection of the architectural and historical structure has been and is a priority. For this reason, one of the first decisions we made when we won elections was to stop the project designed by the previous government, which involved the internal and external destruction of the building. The horrendous walkway that altered the waterfront, the construction of an oversized platform to hide heating ducts, the lack of a suitable solution for the preservation of the stained glass windows ... the project was lacking in many ways and what was worse, the project smashed the aesthetic harmony of one of the most emblematic sites in town.

We stopped the erroneous project without a wink, redirecting it toward more aesthetic solutions, and at the same time harmonious with the past and the conservation of our legacy. The large majority of residents of Sitges shared the same opinion: more respect for our legacy and a less disruptive construction. It was a public outcry that we fully assumed and that we are committed to apply, not only in museums, but in the whole town at large.

The Cau Ferrat will open during the current year of 2013 if all goes according to plans. Maricel de Mar will open next year. In a few months, once the interior restoration is over, museum professionals will begin another task of vital importance: the placement of works and the introduction of a new museum approach, integrating all the arts (architecture, literature and music) in the Cau Ferrat. A visit to the Cau Ferrat will be an artistic experience, but also aesthetic and intellectual, an approach to Modernism movement that opened the cultural transformation of Catalonia in the late nineteenth century and placed Sitges on cultural map.

This will be possible thanks to the museum project led by the Director of the Heritage Consortium of Sitges, Vinyet Panyella, which has already brought a new dimension and projection to the museums of Sitges (a solid program of permanent activities, an enhanced institutional dimension and a professional approach to museums), in accordance with the role and profile they deserve. 

The Cau Ferrat you will see this year will maintain the standards of respect to our legacy deserved by buildings having such a uniqueness. Museu Maricel, in the same reform project, and also Can Rocamora, will enjoy the same level-headed reform policy. Sitges will have fully restored museums that will exhibit their architectural legacy and their art collections, everything sheltered by sound edge facilities and showing off a cutting edge approach.