Costa Esuri book club have yet again put a smile on local charities faces by donating funds they have raised throughout 2011 to Ayamonte Red Cross and the local youth Association “El Sola”.
Costa Esuri book club, which meets every Wednesday in Costa Esuri Golf club house, run a book swap whereby you pay on euro to borrow a book and get 50 cents back when you return it. The club which was set up by Shelia Johnson and Shelia Butler has been running for a number of years and come December they donate the monies collected to a named charity.
This year they chose local charities with local Red Cross President Sergio thanking their gesture saying.” Thank you so much, this five hundred euros will be put to great use”.
The Youth association El Sola which is located in La Villa in Ayamonte and represented by Francisco Blas who collected the cheque for three hundred euros on their behalf.
Janice Malone administrator for Las Jarras in Costa Esuri was delighted that the book club had chosen local charities for their donations. “All year round I am helping people solve problems some minor others not so much and it’s my job but this single act today has made me feel so good. Moments like this make you so proud of the expats community here in Ayamonte.”
Isabel Álvarez Ayamonte’s councilor for protocol was also present at the presentation said, “This is a perfect example of positive work where the expat community here in Ayamonte has excelled and I can only thank the book club for all they have done.”
The exhibition which opened in November during the “XVI Jornadas de Historia” will remain open during Christmas in the Casa Grande due to popular demand.
I didn’t get the chance to see it myself until now and would recommend that if you are in the centre of town pop-in to view it. See if you can spot the town hall and the arch that went from the town hall to where the Laguna bar is today.
The exhibition is in the Sala de las Tinajas which is just on the left after you go in the front door and while you’re there you can also see this year’s nativity scene (crib)
For all of the English readers there is a Carol service this year in the Casa Grande at 5.30 pm on Dec 21st.
Now in its second year and growing steady the Ruta de la Tapa which was held from November 21st to December looks set to be a firm fixture in Ayamonte events for years to come.
This year no less than 17 establishments were involved in the route and if you completed the route which was no mean feat you entered a draw for a weekend break in the Parador.
The Puerta Ancha was the winner of the best tapa which was “Mini Cilindro de Ternera con Escalibada con Queso Brie Fundido y Salsa de Champiñones Crujiente de Ibérico” which translates to a mini cylinder of veal with peppers and onions with melted Brie cheese and mushroom sauce.
Fabio Berzo collected the prize for Best Tapa in the Town hall today (Dec 15th) and Josè Montalve Atacho from Pilas won the prize for completing the route.
Over the next two months 25 tons of food will be shared out among families who are struggling in the current economic climate in Ayamonte.
The Spanish Red Cross are responsible for 10,000 kilos of food which comes from surplus food banks within the European Union while the remaining 15,000 kilos comes from the collection of food stuffs organized by the band “ Los del Ruedo” in collaboration with the town hall, civil protection, Red Cross and various other charitable organizations.
Town councillor Isabel Alvarez who is responsible for this campaign was delighted with the response of the people of Ayamonte towards the food bank to help families who are going through a difficult period. She had special praise for all the people who supported the campaign which was launched in August and visited each and every neighbourhood in Ayamonte.
Cecilia Rodríguez, Ayamonte’s Deputy Mayor for social services, visited the warehouse where the food is being kept and promised a fair distribution of these goods amongst Ayamonte’s most needy.
It not really news anymore that the majority of town councils around Spain are feeling the squeeze as budgets are cut and income from an almost stagnant economy is under severe pressure. Ayamonte is no different to any other town on the Southern Coast but it wasn’t until today that we were given a glimpse of the current spending and income of Ayamonte town hall.
The Mayor of Ayamonte Antonio Rodríguez Castillo presented today ( Nov 2nd 2011) a draft proposal for the measures that will need to be taken in the Town Hall to somehow tidy up their accounts.
Now for some facts and figures, these are all according to the Mayor’s figures presented today. Ayamonte Town hall has a monthly income of €740,000 which comes from Junta de Andalucia and the Tax office. Ayamonte town hall currently has monthly expenses of €1,784,000 with €865,000 of this expense coming from salaries, €486,000 for services like gardening, electricity, cleaning and cleaning of public buildings.
Antonio Rodríguez Castillo gave a more detailed account of the services spending. Each month Ayamonte spends €210,000 on cleaning, €140,000 on gardening, €84,000 on cleaning of public buildings and €51,000 on maintenance and electricity.
Year on year , Ayamonte has an income of €8.9 million while expenses are €21.4 million a shortfall of €12.5 million. The draft presented by the Mayor to make cut backs has 28 points with the following being the most drastic.
- Reduce the salary bill by €300,000 (here the Mayor is open to proposals, whether they be reduction in hours, rotation.
- Reduction in the Sports council budget by €150,000
- Renegotiation of the services tenders in hope of saving €800,000.
- Changing street lighting to LED ( expected saving €600,000)
- Reduce the number of mobile lines in town hall (Saving €18,000)
One of the measures that has been much disputed by the opposition party and by the general public is the increase of 4.5 per cent of the council taxes.