The Valencian generalitat has sanctioned the secretary-controller of the Benitatxell City Council, Jesús Castro, for refusing to pay bills approved by the Local Government Board and hindering the operation of municipal services. This is reflected in a final resolution of the General Directorate of Local Administration, after the opening of the disciplinary file last April 2021.
Two sanctions are imposed on him: the suspension of functions for 6 months and the dismissal of his job as Secretary-Controller of the City Council of El Poble Nou de Benitatxell.
According to the document, two sanctions are imposed. On the one hand, the suspension of functions for 6 months for the "commission of an open disobedience to the orders or instructions of a superior" for refusing "to pay, as responsible for the municipal intervention, certain invoices [...] with express refusal to the written requirements of the Mayor's Office.
Secondly, a penalty of dismissal from his job as Secretary-Controller of the City of El Poble Nou de Benitatxell, when it was demonstrated that "it has been permanently hindering the normal functioning of municipal public services, preparing reports (especially objections to its supervisory function) outside the ordinary terms of good administrative practice, and without justifying or demonstrating the causes of such delays.
This decision of the General Directorate became effective on Monday, May 16, when the City Council officially notified Jesús Castro of his final removal from the municipal staff. The sanctioned official must look for a destination in another municipality, once the period of suspension that has been imposed has been completed.
The municipal government team regrets having had to reach this outcome. The current managers of the Consistory value municipal employees as the main asset that the City Council has, since, without them, public services could not function. However, in this case, the persistent attitude of the former secretary left the municipal and regional administrations no choice.
The government's motivation for requesting the initiation of disciplinary proceedings
The municipal government team requested the General Directorate of Local Administration to initiate a disciplinary file against Castro in an extraordinary plenary session in December 2020. The events date back to October 28, 2020, the day a Local Government Board was held that included approval of a list of invoices. As there is no objection to the Intervention formulated in due time and form in the file, the attendees unanimously approved the payment of the invoices.
However, the following day, the comptroller secretary stated that he had no intention of remitting the bank transfers and, subsequently, disregarded the payment order issued by the Mayor's Office. Fulfilling his threat, on November 3, he rejected the signing of the bank transfer consignment and, finally, on November 4, he prepared a document with the title 'Reparos Report', in which he expressed his disagreement with the approval of those invoices.
The report was prepared seven days after the Governing Board agreed to the approval, which is a "blatant violation" of article 215 of the Local Treasury Law, which requires that the objection be formulated prior to the adoption of the agreement.
The local government also denounced several similar actions by Castro in other administrative procedures, as well as the "general paralysis" that he was causing in the operation of the City Council, with unjustified obstacles to habitual and ordinary procedures to which he had not raised any objection during the mandate. of the above corporations.
