The association of municipalities of the Arc Metropolità, which make up the cities of the second metropolitan ring, has stressed the need to reform local financing as soon as possible so that municipalities have sufficient resources to respond to the needs of citizens. The mayors have approved a resolution to this effect at the entity's General Assembly, held in Terrassa, where they recall that municipal financing has been a pending issue for decades.
In the words of the president of Arc and mayoress of Sabadell, Marta Farrés, “the situation has been complex for a long time because the municipalities have historically had to assume much more than what we would have, without having the skills or the resources. We have done it out of responsibility, because it was necessary to respond to our neighbors. Now we are at a critical moment.”
The vice-president and mayor of Martorell, Xavier Fonollosa, stated that "we will continue working as before, but it is necessary to solve the financing issue once and for all because we are willing to assume more powers, but this must be accompanied by 'funding that allows us to move forward and take on new challenges”.
For his part, the vice-president and mayor of Vilafranca del Penedès, Pere Regull, stressed that "we have to compensate for the loss of income to guarantee the stability of public services and policies". In the case of the Arc Metropolità, it is necessary to respond on a daily basis to innumerable situations that perhaps "would not correspond to us but which come to us as the closest administration and we must have the resources to offer solutions".
The Assembly had representatives from the nine founding municipalities of the Arc. The General Assembly was attended by the president of the Arco Metropolitano and mayor of Sabadell, Marta Farrés; the vice presidents and mayors of Martorell and Vilafranca del Penedès, Xavier Fonollosa and Pere Regull, respectively; the mayor of Terrassa, Jordi Ballart and the councilor for the Presidency of the municipality, Jennifer Ramírez; the mayoress of Granollers, Alba Barnusell; the mayor of Rubí, Ana Maria Martínez and the councilor spokesperson for this municipality, Moisés Rodríguez; the councilor for Urbanism, Housing, Projects and Works of Urbanism and the Environment of Vilanova y la Geltrú, Francesc Xavier Serra; the councilor delegate from the Presidency of Mataró, Miquel Àngel Vadell and a representation from Mollet del Vallès.
