"Suffering and tension are growing": SOS from local councils over lack of secretaries

BarcelonaDuring this Spanish legislature, there have been several transfers of powers in Catalonia, but there is one agreed upon this year that could also have a significant impact: the responsibility for the comprehensive management of municipal secretaries and auditors. On the one hand, this was agreed upon by Junts and the PSOE last Friday in May with a compromise amendment, through a new additional provision to the law of local government foundations in the processing of the state civil service law. However, the Generalitat had already secured the commitment to transfer in the February Generalitat-State Bilateral Commission, although it must be finalized throughout the year.

The objective is to manage the entire process, which until now has been handled from Madrid, and to address the shortage of these municipal civil servants, which causes problems for the administration and citizens. The power to call for, select, train, and appoint the transfer has put the technical staff unions on a war footing. PP sources assure that they are preparing a "legal battery" to prevent this, and recall that "in 2017 they stopped many illegalities." Vox sources say they are "waiting for legal details to fight the battle," as they are figures who were "key during the Process." From 2008, during the second tripartite government, until 2013, there had already been a decentralization of calls and training in Catalonia, but without the necessary jurisdiction. Until it was recentralized.

These professionals, authorized at the national level, are key players in the state in the city councils. They are essential for holding a plenary session or for carrying out various procedures such as bidding, approving accounts, or accessing subsidies. They must sign and validate everything. Without their participation, many municipalities are paralyzed or slowed down.

According to data from the Generalitat, of the 1,580 positions that should be covered by these professionals, only 617 are correctly occupied with skills at the state level, while there are 900 vacancies to be filled – two thirds of which affect small or medium-sized towns that must turn to the people who must turn to the people. "The town councils where there are no nationally qualified officials are suffering; the rhythms are different and the suffering and tensions are going in crescendo", assures to the ARA the Secretary of Local Governments and Relations with the Aran of the Generalitat, Xavier Amor. This allows to understand, for example, "why it takes so long to grant the construction permit".

The main challenge that the executive and the regional councillors believe will be resolved is the tenth. The objective is for Catalonia to be able to take charge of the "comprehensive management of a competence long demanded by the local world" due to its basic function and its scarcity.

From the call to total management

The first step toward addressing the shortage of secretaries and auditors comes this year with a call for 218 new positions for the Principality, for which applications were opened until July 3. The tests will begin this September. The Generalitat (Catalan Government) will be responsible for the management, selection, and training of these positions, following an agreement reached with the State in January and specified in a management agreement. Training will be provided at the School of Public Administration of Catalonia, not in Madrid, with adapted content. Until the transfer has materialized, the room for maneuver is provided by the candidates who have successfully completed the process and have chosen Catalonia as their destination.

Amor explains that, at this time, they must "continue talking" with the state government about the transfer to finalize the fine print of the commitment to the transfer, which would allow these professionals to be "adapted to the needs" of Catalonia, promote their role as "facilitating and proactive elements" in the municipalities, and "set the pace of the calls." Regarding the involvement of Junts, he affirms that "all voices contribute in this regard" to achieving the competence.

Importance

UPF political science professor Miquel Salvador explains that secretaries serve "to prevent city councils from committing any illegality," while auditors and treasurers have a primary role in "ensuring compliance with public resources." Thus, "they tell politicians whether they can do something or not." The Catalan electoral process was "a mirage of decentralization," and he sees the importance of the transfer in the possibility of "changing the profile toward a more proactive role, ensuring legality and providing constructive solutions." He adds that it would also allow for "more grounding" and greater demand for Catalan. Likewise, political scientist and UOC professor Andreu Paneque explains that the transfer would be a "qualitative leap" in providing "the capacity to define the profile" and, like Salvador, believes it could address the staff shortage.

For his part, political scientist Miguel Ángel Belmonte from the Abat Oliba CEU University emphasizes that these professionals "are completely independent of the government in power" and that if the Generalitat were to manage this process, it would be "easier for them to fall into circumstantial political pressures" due to institutional proximity and the possibility that the profiles would be like "the profiles."

Essential in 2017?

Salvador doesn't see any "partisan bias" in 2017, and the transfer shouldn't change anything in this regard because "they are civil servants and must abide by the law," as is also the case with the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police). However, Belmonte does emphasize that "Juntos can sell the idea that, if there is a situation like the one in 2017, if the secretaries and auditors are appointed by the Generalitat, it's more difficult for them to have the profile to find illegalities that the technicians found in 2017." Paneque points out, however, that "political influence is there, but it's limited because they apply the code; they don't create jurisprudence like judges."