Mojacar mayor’s pay rise

MOJACAR PSOE spokesman Manuel Zamora has criticized Mayor Rosa Maria Cano for increasing her salary by 42 per cent to €3,600 per month (€43,200 per annum).

But Cano says it isn’t so, dismissing the percentage as incorrect, according to ideal.es, the online version of Spanish newspaper Ideal.

Zamora said that the pay rise for the lady mayor and the councillors, which was approved at the last plenary meeting, is “inadmissible”.

According to the Socialists, councillors who work exclusively for the town hall will receive €2,773 per month (9 per cent more than last year), and those who still maintain other activities will receive €2,033 per month (15 per cent more than last year), he said.

The mayor’s personal secretary has also reportedly received a 42 per cent pay rise, bringing her salary up to €2,264 per month.

Jessica Simpson from Mojacar Positiva se Mueve claimed to be “completely horrified to hear that the Lady Mayor and her personal Secretary have given themselves a 42 per cent increase of their wages”.

She also said that the position of personal secretary to the mayor “could be filled by any of the existing workers of the Town Hall but Rosa Maria insists on taking on someone from outside”.

But while Cano admits to a pay rise, she disagrees with the percentage calculated by the Socialists, Almeria daily El Ideal reports. “I will earn €2,200 net, part time councillors €1,200, and full time €1,800,” she reportedly said. Mojacar Town Hall was emailed by EWN for comment but did not respond.

But how does Cano’s salary compare?

The Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Herei, is the highest paid in Spain, with €125,184 per annum, followed by Madrid’s Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon (€119.985).

By comparison, Palencia Mayor Helodoro Gallego earns €34,500 a year.

In 2007 the Federacion Española de Municipios y Provincias,Spanish (Federation of Spanish Municipalities and Provinces) recommended a Mayor with 25 councillors be paid a salary of €61,000 per annum.

In 2010 Senator and Popular Party President for Andalucia Javier Arenas earned €142,679 per annum, according to his tax return, almost double that of Junta de Andalucia President Jose Antonio Griñan’s €85,131.

Spain’s Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will earn €78,185 this year, 15 per cent less than in 2010.