Palma town hall really needs to get its house in order. Government and town hall-sponsored agencies have been tasked with promoting the city as an all-year, short-break destination. But as my colleague Jason Moore pointed out in his Viewpoint yesterday, the town hall as well as the government to a certain extent are sending out the wrong message. Comments on the Bulletin Facebook page make it clear that people overseas are receiving the wrong message - that they are not wanted here - and quite a few have received it loud and clear and are not coming this year, or next, maybe never again.
In the meantime, in a bid to try and educate the public and reduce anti-social behaviour, in particular vandalism, the town hall has decided to place price tags on public facilities. Right outside our office is a cycle stand which will take two bicycles. The tag states it cost the town hall, or rather the tax payers, 188 euros. Benches across the road have also been priced along with a host of other parts of the city’s infrastructure: waste bins cost a couple of hundred euros.
Apart from looking rather daft, what a total waste of money. Most have already been stolen anyway and are probably pride of place in some teenager’s bedroom. What I have not seen is a member of the local police on the beat, a rare sight to begin with, with a price tag around his or her neck. Tackling anti-social behaviour is surely their job.