Vélez-Málaga to use part of budget surplus to avoid increasing water bills

This figure follows on from the positive result also achieved in the previous financial year, meaning that the council has now closed its accounts with a surplus for two consecutive years.

The town hall maintains that this result highlights the capacity of the municipal accounts to meet new commitments for the benefit of residents. Among these, the governing team specifically cites two: fully absorbing the increase in the price of water and allocating resources to the repayment of debt to financial institutions – two items which, according to the town hall, will ease the financial burden on the residents of Vélez and improve the council's financial position looking ahead to future financial years.

The council views this result as part of its economic management model, believing that "responsible management of public resources translates into direct benefits for the public". According to the town hall, economic planning "must not only guarantee the day-to-day running of municipal services, but also create scope to address new needs and implement measures that have a direct impact on residents, so that the surplus becomes an additional management tool rather than merely an accounting balance".

The largest item to which this surplus will be allocated is water. The town hall will cover, from its own accounts, the increase in the water supply price applied by Axaragua, the public water company, after more than ten years without updating its tariffs.

This decision, which was announced on 1 June by the mayor, Jesús Lupiáñez (PP), alongside the rest of the council team, will cost the town hall nearly 3.5 million euros. The mayor argued at the time that the local government's priority was to protect residents and provide certainty regarding an essential service such as water, in an announcement which also noted that the council had already been covering part of these costs for several years – around one million euros annually – to prevent the failure to update tariffs from ultimately being passed on to household bills.

In addition to this structural increase, there is also a temporary surcharge linked to the supply of water from Malaga city – an exceptional measure adopted during the severe drought that at one point threatened the water supply in the Axarquía and left La Viñuela reservoir practically empty in 2022 and 2023. The situation at the reservoir has changed significantly since then: following the rainfall recorded throughout 2025 and in the early part of 2026, La Viñuela has recovered to levels exceeding 85 per cent of its capacity , a situation that contrasts with the emergency that gave rise to those additional costs and whose financial impact continues to be reflected in the municipal accounts.

Alongside the water budget, the surplus will also enable progress to be made in repaying debt to financial institutions, a measure through which the town hall aims to gain greater financial flexibility in its economic planning for future financial years.

The outcome of the settlement is attributed to the work carried out by the department of finance, headed by Manuel Gutiérrez (PP), in line with what the councillor himself had already advocated in June. At the time, Gutiérrez highlighted that the municipal accounts "guaranteed economic stability and investment capacity", an argument that the town hall is now putting forward once again in light of this latest positive result.

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