Ourense definitively approves the 2026 budget after dismissing four claims

The Plenary of the Ourense City Council definitively approved the general budget of the municipality and its autonomous body, the Municipal Sports Council, for the 2026 financial year, after dismissing the four claims submitted during the public exhibition period. The agreement was adopted in the extraordinary session of October 1, 2026, and published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Ourense on October 8, 2026, in section IV. Local Entities, with official reference 352771 and file no. 2025043630.

A budget born from a denied question of confidence

The file has a singular trajectory. By agreement of May 22, 2026, the Plenary denied the Mayor’s office the granting of the confidence requested through a question of confidence formulated on that same date, under article 197 bis of the Organic Law 5/1985, of June 19, of the General Electoral Regime. The question of confidence was expressly linked to the approval of the 2026 general budgets.

After a period of one month had passed since the denial of confidence without any motion of censure being recorded in the General Registry of the Council, the budgets were considered initially approved according to the aforementioned regulation. That initial agreement was published in the BOP of Ourense on June 26, 2026, which opened the public exhibition period.

Four dismissed claims

During the public exhibition, the following claims were registered, all of which were rejected by the Plenary:

• Xosé Luis Seara Fernández, private individual (general registration no. 2026043148, of 06/29/2026).
• Ana Méndez Gil, spokesperson for the Popular Municipal Group of the Ourense City Council (general registration no. 2026047770, of 07/16/2026).
• Francisco Javier Nóvoa García, Personnel delegate of the Independent and Civil Servants Trade Union Confederation (CSIF) (general registration no. 2026047988, of 07/17/2026).
• Natalia González Benéitez, representing the PSdeG PSOE Municipal Group (general registration no. 2026048048, of 07/17/2026).

The reasons alleged by the claimants were, among others, the non-existence of a mandatory report from the General Comptroller, the insufficient accreditation of budgetary coverage for obligations pending application, the lack of collective bargaining and the violation of the Public Employment Law of Galicia, and the failure to comply with the legal procedure for budget preparation by basing it on an economic-financial Plan.

The technical reports supporting the agreement

The dismissal is based on four reports incorporated into the file:

• Report from the legal advisor dated 07/21/2026, regarding the non-existence of a mandatory report from the General Comptroller.
• Report from the General Secretariat of the Plenary dated 06/09/2026, regarding the sufficiency of credit in budget application 310.4411.22711.
• Report from the Economic and Budgetary Management Body dated 07/22/2026, regarding the budgetary coverage of pending application obligations and regarding the economic-financial Plan.
• Report from the Head of Personnel Service dated 07/22/2026, regarding collective bargaining.

What has been approved

The fifth agreement of the Plenary definitively approves the general budget for 2026, integrated by the budgets of the Ourense City Council itself and its autonomous body, the Municipal Sports Council, together with the execution bases and the personnel annexes. The official text emphasizes that no alteration occurred in relation to the initially approved file, therefore maintaining the content that had already undergone public consultation.

The edict refers, as a conclusion, to the consolidated state summarized by chapters of the City Council and the autonomous sports body, which accompanies the definitive approval agreement.

The definitive approval closes the 2026 budgetary cycle and enables the City Council to execute its accounts during the next fiscal year, in addition to fixing the remuneration and the personnel structure of the consistory and the Municipal Sports Council. For the residents, the agreement determines the resources available for services, investments, and municipal sports activities throughout the year, after more than four months of processing marked by the vote of confidence and the four rejected claims.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Ourense, October 8, 2026, section IV. Local Entities (official reference: 352771).