The increase amounted to 374 million pesetas and was mainly due to higher security costs and investment, as well as the launch of a new institution dependent on the Cortes: the Chamber of Accounts. It was a new body responsible for overseeing the financial management of Aragon’s public sector. Its initial budget projections stood at around 84 million pesetas, nearly 60 million of which would be used to build its staff.
The largest allocation went to personnel costs, at 1.279 billion pesetas, an increase of nearly 9%. In addition to a 2% pay rise, the budget provided for an expanded workforce in response to the institution’s new political and technological challenges.
Another 917 million pesetas was allocated to current goods and services. This section included an increase of more than 100 million for security and computerization projects aimed at both members of parliament and Cortes staff.
The transition to the euro and the incorporation of the Chamber of Accounts thus shaped a budget already looking ahead to 2002. This is how Aragón Digital reported it 25 years ago, in the original story about the Cortes of Aragon’s first budget in euros.
