José Hila, Palma's mayor, in his office. | Jaume Morey

TW

José Hila, reinstalled as mayor of Palma, has promised that the city will have more police and that there will be a cleaning plan to deal with graffiti. There will be, he says, one hundred more police officers over the next four years. The mayor adds that he wants to start immediately on recruitment. "Palma has grown and the police force has diminished." Police will act at a more local level and ensure "bylaw compliance".

Referring to appointments of councillors, he has stated that a change at the public safety department "was necessary". Angelica Pastor had faced any number of difficulties which had arisen from the cases of police corruption. Joana Maria Adrover, her replacement, is someone who enjoys Hila's total confidence.

PSOE have taken over responsibility for the Emaya municipal services agency, but Hila has defended its management by Neus Truyol of Més. The poor state of the city was due to people's irresponsibility. Truyol had presided over "a very difficult area" and had brought in new machinery, e.g. for street cleaning.

Another priority for the new mayor is the EMT bus service, which PSOE will continue to control at the town hall. With new buses being acquired, service frequencies will increase.