Catalá allocates an additional 25 million for recovery after the DANA

The Local Government Board of the València City Council has approved a budget modification that includes an additional investment of 25 million euros for the recovery of the districts affected by the DANA on October 29 and l'Albufera. With this contribution, the total cost of the measures adopted by the council amounts to more than 163 million euros, which will be sent to the Government of Spain for funding.

The mayor of València, María José Catalá, detailed that the council has already allocated 38 million euros of its own resources for the recovery of the most affected districts: La Torre, Castellar-l’Oliveral, and Forn d’Alcedo.

Catalá explained that this new allocation will finance:

Removal of waste and debris from l’Albufera: 8.7 million euros.

Cleaning of gardens in the districts: 1.2 million euros.

Repair of watchtowers on southern beaches: 40,000 euros.

Investments worth 15 million euros, distributed among various departments:

Comprehensive Water Cycle: 6.4 million euros.

Sports: 2.9 million euros.

Infrastructure Maintenance: 4.3 million euros.

Central Technical Services: 673,000 euros.

Cleaning: 500,000 euros (renewal of containers).

Culture: 116,000 euros.

By districts, the investments reach 9.4 million in La Torre, 4 million in Forn d’Alcedo, and 2.2 million in Castellar-l’Oliveral.

Exemption of fees for those affected

The council has approved fiscal modifications that benefit the affected residents, with retroactive effect from October 29, 2024. These measures include:

Exemption from the payment of eight municipal fees, such as the use of public domain (driveways, terraces, markets, among others), the opening of trenches and pits for reconstruction, and the provision of urban services related to force majeure damages.

Extension of these exemptions throughout 2025, even if occupation is already possible, with an estimated impact of 224,356 euros on municipal finances.

Refund of fees already paid and extension of deadlines for voluntary tax payments.

Catalá highlighted that 1,016 IBI receipts for 2024 have already been refunded, totaling 339,550.7 euros. She also urged the Government of Spain to extend the IBI and IAE exemption to the 2025 fiscal year and compensate the City Council for these measures.