Ajijic could obtain additional municipal funding next year thanks to an initiative presented by Chapala government solicitor Gamaliel Soto Perez, a leading member of the city council.
Earlier in the month, as a member of the council’s Treasury and Budget Committee, he presented an alternative 2024 budget plan, suggesting that the city’s annual expenditures be distributed more equitably among the municipal seat and five satellite towns. The formula would be based on current official population figures and the amount of revenue each delegation generates for the municipality’s general fund.
Specifically, Soto proposed that Chapala’s direct investment in public works next year — estimated to run at approximately 3.8 million pesos — be allocated proportionately, corresponding to each locality’s population.
During the final cabildo session of 2023 held on December 22, councilors approved the treasurer’s 2024 budget by a majority vote, while stipulating that Soto’s initiative be taken into account.
Chapala Mayor Alejandro Aguirre said he liked Soto’s proposal but asked that the budget commission give it a more detailed analysis.
The concept will certainly be welcomed by the residents of Ajijic who have long felt that tax revenue collected for the town’s high real estate values and rates for water and sewage services puts far more money into the municipal coffers than it gets in return. It should likewise appeal to residents of Atotonilquillo, who also sense their geographically orphaned community gets an unjustly small slice of the spending pie.