Mayor of Mambrillas abstains and delegates the census to his deputy

The mayor-president of the Mambrillas de Lara City Council, Francisco Javier Herrero Zorrilla, has communicated his recusal from the investigation procedure regarding several census registrations and ex officio removals from the municipal register (file 46/2026) due to a possible conflict of interest. The Mayoral resolution, dated September 17, 2026, delegates to the deputy mayor, Eduardo Santamaría Burgos, the powers necessary to process, promote, and resolve said file. The Official Gazette of the Province of Burgos published the decree on September 30, 2026, in issue number 186, under the official reference BOPBUR-2026-04037.

The announcement is disseminated in compliance with Article 44.2 of Royal Decree 2568/1986, of November 28, which approves the Regulations on the Organization, Operation, and Legal Regime of Local Entities (ROF), which requires the publication of delegations of Mayoral powers. The measure is based on Article 43 of the same regulation and Article 21.3 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the Bases of the Local Regime (LRBRL).

This is not the first time the City Council has resorted to this formula for the same matter: a previous decree, dated August 3, 2026, had already arranged an identical special delegation, published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Burgos number 153, of August 14, 2026, with reference BOPBUR-2026-03389.

A recusal due to risk of conflict of interest

The mayor justifies his recusal based on the occurrence of “a situation susceptible to generating a conflict of interest,” in accordance with the general regime of recusal for authorities and personnel in the service of public administrations. The decree invokes the risk of “collision or appearance of collision between private interests and general interests” when the decision-maker’s impartiality could be compromised.

To preserve neutrality and objectivity in the processing, the City Council arranges an organizational measure that transfers the decision-making and administrative promotion actions to a councilor, through the delegation of the exercise of powers.

Special delegation to the deputy mayor

The resolution delegates to the deputy mayor Eduardo Santamaría Burgos the exercise of the Mayoral powers, except for those mentioned in Article 21.3 of the LRBRL, on a special basis in accordance with Article 43.4 of the ROF. The scope includes:

• The direction and momentum of the processing of the file.
• The performance of whatever actions may be appropriate.
• The formulation of requirements and the request and receipt of reports.
• The adoption of procedural and final resolutions.
• The signing of the administrative documents necessary to execute what has been resolved.
• The power to issue acts affecting third parties when necessary to resolve the file.

Attributions that are legally non-delegable are excluded. The delegated councilor may not delegate the powers received to a third party and must exercise them personally.

Limits, control, and revocability

Acts issued by delegation shall be considered issued by the delegating body, must expressly indicate that they are adopted “by delegation,” and it shall be the responsibility of the Mayor’s Office to resolve any appeals for reversal that are filed. The mayor retains the powers to receive detailed information on the delegated management and to be informed in advance of decisions of significance.

The delegation is revocable at any time by the Mayor’s Office, with the same formalities required for its granting, and takes effect from the day following the signing of the resolution. The decree is notified to the delegated councilor for their acceptance and shall be reported to the Plenary in the next ordinary session. If, during the processing, any legal cause for abstention occurs in the delegated body, it must proceed according to the general regime, notifying the competent body.

The publication of this decree allows the residents of Mambrillas de Lara to know who decides on the investigation of census registrations and the ex officio removals from the municipal census, a matter that affects legal residence, access to services, and participation in local electoral processes. The announcement also explains the mechanism by which the City Council separates the mayor from a file in which a risk of partiality is perceived, and establishes the limits, control, and revocability of that delegation.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Burgos, no. 186, of September 30, 2026, III. Local Administration, pp. 4-6 (official reference: BOPBUR-2026-04037).