Town Halls in Alicante province in ‘the red’

TOWN HALLS in the Alicante Province owe more than €300million in bills to suppliers.

The Government has created a credit plan to help them pay off their debts.

The biggest debtors are Benidorm, Alicante, Orihuela, Torrevieja, Novelda and Elche who each owed more than €15 million at the beginning of the year.

Benidorm owes €57.7 million, Alicante nearly €55 million, Torrevieja and Novelda around €16.5 million.

Elche has taken up a payment plan with the tax office to be able to pay the €15.6 million it owes. Altea, Finestrat and La Nucia are also big debtors owing €14.6 million, €12.5 million and nearly €10 million respectively.

Others councils in the red include: Elda (€9.5m), Alfaz del Pi (€3.5m), Redovan (€3.7m), Sant Joan (€3.5m), Villena (€7.1m), Pilar de la Horadada (€2.6m), and Pinoso (€2.2m).

The final amount owed across the province could actually be higher as not all town halls have made their debts public and it has not been possible to compile information from all 141 municipalities.

Those town halls that have declared their debts can make use of the Government’s credit plan and must also submit a transparency report by March 31 as part of a plan to avoid future debts and stop a similar situation from occurring.