The coronavirus pandemic forces FMRM to hold a General Assembly by videoconference for the first time in its history
The Federation of Municipalities of the Region of Murcia held its annual Ordinary General Assembly today, and for the first time in its history it was held without the physical presence of its members. Covid-19 has caused the most important decision-making body of the FRMR to be held telematically to deal with the items on the agenda, including the approval of the 2020 budget, among others.
Of the 45 members that make up the assembly, all the mayors of the region, 40 members have connected to this assembly to vote on the decisions that have been debated today.
The Assembly was chaired by its president María Dolores Muñoz, mayor of Bullas, and with the technical assistance of the Secretary General of the FMRM Manuel Pato.
The agenda included the approval of the minutes of the previous Assembly, the president's report, the settlement of the FMRM budget for 2019, the ratification of the maintenance of the annual fee, the 2020 budget and other topics of interest.
All the points have been approved unanimously, and the mayors have congratulated the federation's income statement since, as the general secretary of the FMRM has explained, "this budget reflects the consolidation of the economic recovery of the FMRM after the economic crisis that affected the federation from 2010 to 2014." Likewise, the general secretary has explained that the 2020 budget is balanced in income and expenses, being 770.672,71 euros, and has commented that "this budget will give us the possibility of developing European projects, training lines for civil servants and local political positions, and we will continue to maintain the network of sustainable municipalities." In addition, Manuel Pato has commented that, "we are going to launch an innovation project in the area of human resources that will be applied as a pilot plan in at least two municipalities in the region this year."
During the question and answer period, the members of the assembly raised issues of interest for the development of municipal management, including questions related to overcoming the health crisis or demands that the town councils have on a daily basis, such as the problematic situation of the burning of pruning that is not regulated in the autonomous community, and asking the Spanish government to postpone the payment plan to suppliers.
Mayors are also concerned about the economic impact their municipalities are bearing in dealing with the cleaning and sanitation of schools, cultural centres, etc., in accordance with the protocols established by the Health Department, or the lack of health guidelines in complementary activities that are not regulated, as is the case with dance schools.
Finally, María Dolores Muñoz, in her report, reviewed the work carried out by the FMRM since she was appointed president of said organisation a year ago. In it, she highlighted the role of the town councils during the pandemic, and the various demands made to both the CARM and the Spanish government. She also welcomed the suspension of the fiscal rules announced by the Ministry of Finance, and finally called for maintaining the unity of the local world in the face of other administrations.
