EL AYUNTAMIENTO INFORMA/ THE TOWN HALL INFORMS

[languagesolutions]

Sorry, but I can't take any more of this populist, extremist, radical nationalistic rubbish. There's too much of it going round lately: BREXIT, Catalunya, Trump,...

Please respect the Spanish just like the Spanish respect you.

The TH may not be perfect, but nationalities have nothing to do with it ✌️

[JessicaH]

If only there were more people willing to stand up, speak out, and be counted about things, and people, they perceive have been wronged.
Seems too many people these days haven't the " dangly bits" required preferring not to "get involved" assuming their non action, whilst behind the scenes they are trouble stirring, will make everyone like them.
Not so. Eventually they will be handed the only medal they deserve......a white feather.

From the outside, looking in, would say that although Arboleas Ayuntamiento probably realise Roger is correct the very fact he wasnt born there is irksome and are now acting in retaliation to what the Brits voted for.....BREXIT.

[Moyra]

Roger,

I am truly sorry it has come to this. I wish you a happy retirement. 

To those who have castigated Roger, all I can say is, "you may rue the day" as you too may need help.  Alas Roger has left.

[joanie]

Roger ,
Why do you need to resign, you are an elected councilor and even if you are not in the loop you can still make your voice heard on behalf of us poor mortals who have been waiting for 15 years to get our properties legalized. please soldier on

[enricot]

Roger, with great respect, I acknowledge the sterling work that you have consistently provided on behalf of the English community of Arboleas. Regrettably they have not acknowledged their debt to you for your efforts & I can completely understand your reluctance to keep putting your head on the chopping block for them. (ungrateful sods are the first words that leap to my mind). I know that I personally owe you a great debt for your assistance when I move over to live in Arboleas with my wife Jenny. If you ever find it a possibility that you would wish to re-enter the realm of popular politics, please believe that you will have my total support in that endeavour. I respect your probity, genuiness, honesty & shrewdness. I believe that any administration that was fortunate enough to attract your interest would benefit massively from your experience & credibility to the public at large. I sympathise on behalf of your detractors, they have an enormous hurdle to overcome when the public recognise their stupidity viz-a-viz yourself.
Proud to declare myself,
Rob Traynor

[jenny911]

     


        I agree a very sad day for Arboleas people, found Roger to be most helpful throughout our years. Cristabol will
         regret it.  The very best of wishes to you Roger and family

[Rtis]

SO, you other Brit councillors are you going to back Roger , and walk out as well ! ?

[byrney]

Well, you Arboleans who have consistently criticised, castigated, abused (and worse) Roger over the years, where do you go now?

God forbid, you might end up like the rest of us.  Oh dear, never mind, what a pity.

The very best wishes to you Roger and your family in your well-earned retirement.

So sorry that it happened in this way, but then others of us have suffered in similar ways at the hands of politicians, so maybe it's karma.

[raysun]

Very sad to see roger go after years of hard work on behalf of all residents  noting his request to have more spanish involvement in the nave so hes not just acting on behalf of the brits. Who will we now ask on the forum for info on  whats going on with everyday matters in our own areas. Will the mayor answer on the forum. Dont think so.  I understand that the other councillers are on salary and dont want to rock the boat and  so  roger took the hit for trying to be open and transparent in dealing with matters when he got no response from the mayor.  Might has ruled over right and the matter which started rogers downfall will now  fade fade away over time.
this Is spain and nothing changes or will change. Nothing has been learnt from the past.
best of luck ROGER in your retirement.

[byrney]

So, in a nutshell Roger, not a Democracy at all.

Your sad departure heralds a return to the bad old days (which is what I believe Labour Party Policy is in the UK.......).

[NorrieM]

In my view it is not about Sophias.  It is about the use of public funds to subsidise a private business.  Is that corrupt?

Sorry you are going Roger, you have done wonders.. I thought there was real hope for the town, but not now.

[Roger]

I don't want to keep flogging this issue here.
However there are questions asked which I will answer.

All the decisions which are made in the Town Hall are made by the Mayor.
There is sometimes the opportunity to discuss issues, but usually around decisions which have already been taken.
While I was broadly in agreement with the decisions I was content to see the job getting done. Of course in life you have to make compromises and there were times when things were not entirely to my liking, but overall things were going in the right direction.

Over time however it has become more and more difficult to understand the priorities of work being carried out.
Currently the 5th sewage treatment plant is being installed by the Diputacion, using central government grant. However many residents are asking when the Town Hall will complete the infrastructure so that they can connect to existing treatment plants.
Of course everything depends on money, but residents want to see a plan so they know what to expect.
I asked when the road works in Los Carrascos will be resumed, because I was getting complaints from residents.
The Mayor told me they would resume in September. That was last September, and the works are now growing grass.
Instead other works are started.

I presented a proposal for ensuring that the Town Hall would receive the income from the recycling material in the punto limpio. This is estimated to be around 50,000 euros which currently goes to a private company. This was rejected without a logical reason, to the frustration of the British Councillors.

Of course all these discussions have been within the Town Hall, and I have always tried to present Council policy, without criticism.
However the issue came up of the gymnasium, the gymnastics, and the bar.
There had been a lot of discussions about the first two of these over several months.
On the subject of Sophias the Mayor stated many times that things were not being done correctly. At times he even said that they had to go.
Then on 7th September there was an official meeting of the Junta de Gobierno to approve the process.
But there was no discussion.
The Mayor decreed:-
The Gymnasium would go out to tender, including Rehabilitation, despite me pointing out the use of unqualified workers carrying out work of a qualified physiotherapist. It was agreed that I was correct, but that it was not a concern of the Town Hall.
It was stated that the gymnastics would not go out to tender; no reason given. This has caused a lot of confusion, and stress for Stacey. I hope a suitable contract can be agreed, with only 3 days left, after the meeting I arranged last Thursday.
Nothing was said about the computer workshop, so it was a surprise when I read on the forum that they had been told to leave.

I was faced with a choice. Say nothing and therefore be seen to be agreeing with these decisions.
Or be honest and give my opinion. This is what I did, of course understanding that unless this convinced the Administration to start a democratic discussion my position would be untenable.
I fully accept that my position is untenable, although would have liked the opportunity to explain all this to a full meeting of PSOE Councillors. Instead a meeting was called but I was excluded.
I have therefore had no option but to resign.

It has been asked about the other British Councillors. Of course what they do and say is their choice; however I know that my frustrations have been shared by them for many months, because we have often discussed the issues.

On future issues:-
I am not aware of any action to implement Innovation 14, after over 2 months.
During the next week I will be publishing the information which I have, on my web site,
However of course I am now out of the loop.

The other BIG issue is the future of Arboleas post Brexit, given that the prosperity of the town depends entirely on a continual flow of UK residents, mostly pensioners.
The comment by the Mayor in the Spanish press yesterday increases the uncertainty.


I hope that this explains my actions in my detail.
Now I am taking a rest.

[tandas]

Not interested in Sophia's just want to know where we stand now Roger has stepped down with regard to Inn 14 ongoing who is going to push it on for us all now.  For those who want to stay here not a problem but some of us would like to sell and move on.  Money in the townhall coffers with backdated IBI and license fees why is there not more questions regarding this?

[Mickey]

Maybe the Mayor can answer that question as he now seems to using the forum to give out information.

[Ticktock]

I was wondering the same thing, why are Sophia's paying such a low rent?

[languagesolutions]

Once again, Sophias  It seems like there's a lot of interest in this business... nobody is asking about the bar and other buildings and services. 300€ sounds great if you have a business mind... why don't you take part in the tender process?

Re getting building work done and so on... you all know how things work. The intention may well be September, but work is done and finished when the money arrives; it's a business involving politicians and governments. Those of you who have lived here for a while know that...and we can't really accuse Cristóbal of not carrying out projects, works,... just look at what they have done in the last 6 years and compare it to the previous administration or local councils  :7505:

[Aileen]

I wonder if Roger tried over the last few months to sort this all out behind closed doors but when he saw he was getting nowhere decided enough was enough and posted on the forum. He appears to have got to the end of his tether with the lack of response from within the town hall. What everyone I speak to wants to know is why is it that Sophias are paying such a low rent and why are they charging individuals to use the facility when it is not their place to charge them. Seems to me that they have their cake are really are eating it. In the cold light of day they are running a business in the community building free of charge. Nice deal if you can get it. I wonder just how much they are charging the therapists each month.

[gingernut]

The other members of the team don't say anything,Crystabel said to me that they were going to start work on our pozo problem in September,I called at the Town Hall asked Danny if it could be confirmed when the work  would start,he said he would speak to the mayor and phone me with an answer,nearly three weeks and still waiting.

I will say it before anyone else (it's still September)

This is not the first time he has promised to phone and hasn't.

It will be interesting to see what transpires,and who takes over has 2nd in command.

[languagesolutions]

Roger: Sincerely sad your venture with Cristóbal and the team has ended in this way, after all the good work. As far as I know, the other British councillors don't seem to be unhappy. Again, it's a shame you couldn't have sorted this out face-to-face instead of on this forum. Good luck for the future and thank you.

TH:Thanks for the info, look forward to further info.

[Fishery]

'The town hall informs'. Not sure what the information is. Just the usual political waffle!

[Tetley]

The Brits main problem at the mo,isnt the TH,Roger or the Mayor,its the UK town Hall No 10 mangment that will directly effect Arboleas and the Brit punters right to riside/terms conditions/entitlments & obligations

Roger has done his job and helped urbanize land and deliver ino 13 and 14 ALONG WITH  the Mayor TH staff and council team.


Arboleas is very posative


we have daily works and improvements,mid range local taxes and a good comunnity.





also just out of itnrest,the transport lads are extreamly busy bringing buyers/renters from the UK and Arboleas homes are selling even at a low exchange rate.

[sparkiemike]

The TH will rue the day

[sallyb]

I to thank Roger for all his hard work over the years. It is a sad day for Arboleas and the mayor could live to regret it when the election comes around. With all the past history of corrupt mayors the TH should be pulling out all the stops to prove they are squeaky clean. Not that I am suggesting otherwise.

[Annastasia]

Well of course you would say that .I personally thinks it's disgusting that a man who has been open and honest and worked hard for years to get everyone legal should be treated this way.
BUt what is more disgusting is the fact that his fellow British councillors did not back him up ,shame on you. DOes this mean they are not open and honest???. Time will tell.
I totally agree with Rogers view point regarding the nave and I am not his biggest fan by any means.

[phillthepick]

Well said Cristobal and the team. :c017:

[shadeseeker]

I think this will prove to be a very sad day for Arboleas and all it's citizens. 😢 But I respect his decision

[Lynden]

It's a sad day for Arboleas Roger, but you have to abide by your principles and of course take care of your family.
Can I take this opportunity to personally thank you for your valuable contribution to the locale over many years.
Take care and enjoy life.

[Roger]

I have published a more detailed explanation on my web site
www.arboleaslive.com
and will continue to offer any help and advice if people contact me.

[Tetley]

Letter to Cristobal

In the past 6 years it has been my responsibility to explain the policy of the council to the British community. This has become increasingly difficult when I am receiving numerous complaints and questions about council policy, which as you know has often been decided without discussion with the British Councillors.

There are continual complaints I receive about promises made to neghbours regarding connection to the sewage system or for completion of works, and which are not fulfilled.

There is the continual lack of understanding why works are started and not completed, while other works are started. This leaves areas in a constant state of works in progress.
As you are aware we are never consulted about the timetable for these works, but I have to try to justify this apparent random way of working.

There are also specific issues which either we are not informed about or where actions are taken or not taken without our involvement.

To discover a week ago that Carrion had met the Town Hall in 2013 and that a project was approved regarding the proposed development in Los Llanos, without our knowledge.

The animal compound in El Chopo which  it was decided over 2 years ago to close because of the nuisance to neghbours and the potential threat to public health, but no action despite frequent promises to me and the neighbours that the TH will take action.

The contract for a private company to collect the rubbish from the punto limpio was signed without any discussion. When I presented a plan for the Town Hall to take over this function so that the profit could be used by the community rather than retained by a private company it was dismissed without discussion.

The final issue for me was the decision made, without discussion, to terminate the occupation of a small workshop to provide computers for needy people in the area, when the Ayuntamiento has no plan for the use of the room.
There is also the decision made without discussion to continue to allow a private company to have exclusive use of the community Nave in El Rulador, at a subsidised rent, and for the TH not to take any responsibility for what is carried out in the building, while not even discussing my detailed proposal for the community to have joint use of the building is in my opinion the TH ignoring its social, moral, financial and legal obligations.
I also consider that the way in which the gymnastics club has been treated, leaving them with stress and uncertainty for weeks, is not the correct way for a caring administration to proceed.

For me as I have previously explained to you, it is a matter of personal credibility, and a moral imperative for an elected representative to protect and represent the people.
To ignore this imperative is to say that the democratic system is worthless.
We are all elected to represent the people, not to represent the administration.

In conclusion, with no effective democratic involvement in the decisions and actions of the Ayuntamiento, I find it difficult to justify balancing my time trying to keep up with events outside my involvement with my domestic obligations to care for Sylvia.
I will therefore be withdrawing from any involvement in the current administration.

Sincerely
Roger Done

fair play to yer Rog

[Roger]

Letter to Cristobal

In the past 6 years it has been my responsibility to explain the policy of the council to the British community. This has become increasingly difficult when I am receiving numerous complaints and questions about council policy, which as you know has often been decided without discussion with the British Councillors.

There are continual complaints I receive about promises made to neghbours regarding connection to the sewage system or for completion of works, and which are not fulfilled.

There is the continual lack of understanding why works are started and not completed, while other works are started. This leaves areas in a constant state of works in progress.
As you are aware we are never consulted about the timetable for these works, but I have to try to justify this apparent random way of working.

There are also specific issues which either we are not informed about or where actions are taken or not taken without our involvement.

To discover a week ago that Carrion had met the Town Hall in 2013 and that a project was approved regarding the proposed development in Los Llanos, without our knowledge.

The animal compound in El Chopo which  it was decided over 2 years ago to close because of the nuisance to neghbours and the potential threat to public health, but no action despite frequent promises to me and the neighbours that the TH will take action.

The contract for a private company to collect the rubbish from the punto limpio was signed without any discussion. When I presented a plan for the Town Hall to take over this function so that the profit could be used by the community rather than retained by a private company it was dismissed without discussion.

The final issue for me was the decision made, without discussion, to terminate the occupation of a small workshop to provide computers for needy people in the area, when the Ayuntamiento has no plan for the use of the room.
There is also the decision made without discussion to continue to allow a private company to have exclusive use of the community Nave in El Rulador, at a subsidised rent, and for the TH not to take any responsibility for what is carried out in the building, while not even discussing my detailed proposal for the community to have joint use of the building is in my opinion the TH ignoring its social, moral, financial and legal obligations.
I also consider that the way in which the gymnastics club has been treated, leaving them with stress and uncertainty for weeks, is not the correct way for a caring administration to proceed.

For me as I have previously explained to you, it is a matter of personal credibility, and a moral imperative for an elected representative to protect and represent the people.
To ignore this imperative is to say that the democratic system is worthless.
We are all elected to represent the people, not to represent the administration.

In conclusion, with no effective democratic involvement in the decisions and actions of the Ayuntamiento, I find it difficult to justify balancing my time trying to keep up with events outside my involvement with my domestic obligations to care for Sylvia.
I will therefore be withdrawing from any involvement in the current administration.

Sincerely
Roger Done

[Tetley]

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Debido a los comentarios y rumores que se vienen vertiendo en este foro al margen de la oficialidad, el Ayuntamiento se ve en la necesidad de aclarar todos estos asuntos que de forma reiterada son cuestionados por un miembro del Equipo de Gobierno, Roger Done, Primer Teniente de Alcalde.

Due to the comments and rumours that have been spread off the record on this forum, the Town Hall feels we have the need to clarify all the issues that are continuously being questioned by a member of our government team, Roger Done, Deputy Mayor.

En estos días, el resto del equipo de gobierno, formado por ocho concejales, nos hemos reunido para tratar los distintos asuntos que son objeto de discusión en este foro.

Recently, the rest of our team, composed of eight councillors, have met to address the different issues that are being discussed on this forum.

Hemos tomado los siguientes acuerdos:

We have come to the following agreements:

1.   Poner a disposición de la comunidad de Arboleas toda la documentación y personal necesario para acreditar la verdad en cada uno de los temas:
Alcalde, Concejales, Servicio Jurídico, Técnico Municipal, Policía Local y Traductor.

We will put at the disposal of the community of Arboleas all the necessary documents and our workforce to prove the truth of each topic:
Mayor, Councillors, Legal Team, Town Hall Technician, Local Police and Translator.

2.   Desde un punto de vista Jurídico: D. Roger Done se ha desmarcado, hace dos meses, de la línea consensuada por el equipo de gobierno que siempre ha sido la defensa del interés general, y la solución de los problemas de nuestros vecinos, siempre dentro del estricto ámbito legal. Él ha mantenido su postura incluso cuando se le ha comunicado que su actitud no es correcta según el criterio de este equipo, y creemos que tampoco respecto a la ley; por ello, este equipo de gobierno se ve obligado a valorar jurídicamente la situación.

From a legal point of view, Mr. Roger Done has distanced himself in the last two months from the political approach agreed on by the government team, which has always been the defence of the public interest and the solution of the problems of our citizens, always abiding by the law. He has defended his stance even when he has been told that his attitude isn't correct according to our team's criteria. We also believe that it isn't correct according to the law. For this reason, our government team feels obliged to legally assess the situation.

3.   Desde un punto de vista Político manifestar que la defensa del interés general de todos nuestros vecinos (independientemente de su origen, raza, religión o nacionalidad), han estado y estarán garantizados con absoluto rigor por un equipo de gobierno, que no lo forma un sólo concejal.  Este equipo de gobierno ha actuado así en estos últimos seis años, y lo seguirá haciendo mientras este Alcalde este al frente del ayuntamiento; mejorando Arboleas y sus núcleos, y solucionando problemas.

From a political point of view, we would like to state that the defence of the public interest of our citizens (regardless of their origin, race, religion or nationality) has been and will be guaranteed rigorously by a government team that is not made up of just one councillor. Our team has acted accordingly in the last six years, and will continue doing so for as long as this Mayor is in charge of this Town Hall, improving Arboleas and all the surrounding areas and solving problems.

La prioridad única y exclusiva de este equipo de gobierno son todos los arboleanos.

The sole priority of this government team is the citizens of Arboleas.

En las próximas semanas, daremos más detalles. Muchas gracias a todos por su atención

Within the next few weeks, we will be going into further detail. Thank you all for your attention.

Thank you.

[Official.TH.Arboleas]

Reply with quoteQuote  Modify messageModify  Remove messageRemove
Debido a los comentarios y rumores que se vienen vertiendo en este foro al margen de la oficialidad, el Ayuntamiento se ve en la necesidad de aclarar todos estos asuntos que de forma reiterada son cuestionados por un miembro del Equipo de Gobierno, Roger Done, Primer Teniente de Alcalde.

Due to the comments and rumours that have been spread off the record on this forum, the Town Hall feels we have the need to clarify all the issues that are continuously being questioned by a member of our government team, Roger Done, Deputy Mayor.

En estos días, el resto del equipo de gobierno, formado por ocho concejales, nos hemos reunido para tratar los distintos asuntos que son objeto de discusión en este foro.

Recently, the rest of our team, composed of eight councillors, have met to address the different issues that are being discussed on this forum.

Hemos tomado los siguientes acuerdos:

We have come to the following agreements:

1.   Poner a disposición de la comunidad de Arboleas toda la documentación y personal necesario para acreditar la verdad en cada uno de los temas:
Alcalde, Concejales, Servicio Jurídico, Técnico Municipal, Policía Local y Traductor.

We will put at the disposal of the community of Arboleas all the necessary documents and our workforce to prove the truth of each topic:
Mayor, Councillors, Legal Team, Town Hall Technician, Local Police and Translator.

2.   Desde un punto de vista Jurídico: D. Roger Done se ha desmarcado, hace dos meses, de la línea consensuada por el equipo de gobierno que siempre ha sido la defensa del interés general, y la solución de los problemas de nuestros vecinos, siempre dentro del estricto ámbito legal. Él ha mantenido su postura incluso cuando se le ha comunicado que su actitud no es correcta según el criterio de este equipo, y creemos que tampoco respecto a la ley; por ello, este equipo de gobierno se ve obligado a valorar jurídicamente la situación.

From a legal point of view, Mr. Roger Done has distanced himself in the last two months from the political approach agreed on by the government team, which has always been the defence of the public interest and the solution of the problems of our citizens, always abiding by the law. He has defended his stance even when he has been told that his attitude isn't correct according to our team's criteria. We also believe that it isn't correct according to the law. For this reason, our government team feels obliged to legally assess the situation.

3.   Desde un punto de vista Político manifestar que la defensa del interés general de todos nuestros vecinos (independientemente de su origen, raza, religión o nacionalidad), han estado y estarán garantizados con absoluto rigor por un equipo de gobierno, que no lo forma un sólo concejal.  Este equipo de gobierno ha actuado así en estos últimos seis años, y lo seguirá haciendo mientras este Alcalde este al frente del ayuntamiento; mejorando Arboleas y sus núcleos, y solucionando problemas.

From a political point of view, we would like to state that the defence of the public interest of our citizens (regardless of their origin, race, religion or nationality) has been and will be guaranteed rigorously by a government team that is not made up of just one councillor. Our team has acted accordingly in the last six years, and will continue doing so for as long as this Mayor is in charge of this Town Hall, improving Arboleas and all the surrounding areas and solving problems.

La prioridad única y exclusiva de este equipo de gobierno son todos los arboleanos.

The sole priority of this government team is the citizens of Arboleas.

En las próximas semanas, daremos más detalles. Muchas gracias a todos por su atención

Within the next few weeks, we will be going into further detail. Thank you all for your attention.