Palma.One of the most surprising ideas presented by a member of the public to the regional government as a money saving exercise, said the Ministry for the President's Office yesterday, is the idea of planting evergreen trees in the place of species which shed their leaves every year. Such a move would mean local authorities would not have to spend money paying municipal brigades to constantly sweep the streets of leaves in the autumn but it would also avoid the need for massive pruning campaigns. It was also pointed out as part of the suggestion that evergreen trees need less water.
Another Balearic resident has suggested that policemen should go about non- urgent duties by bicycle, thus saving fuel costs.
By way of reply, a ministry spokesman said that these two ideas which were put forward on its website Balears estalvia (savings for the Balearics), although gratefully received, were ones which local authorities are not going to be able to put into practice.
The Balearic government has so far received 825 suggestions from the public about how it could save money, the most frequently mentioned being proposals that the Administration should cut down on the number of senior managers it has on its payroll and the number of official cars. The ministry spokesman said that it has to ignore suggestions which have a political motivation behind them such as the idea of reintroducing inheritance tax on the rich. More practical meanwhile is the proposal from one resident that the prescription of medicines be adjusted to the needs of the individual so as to avoid surplus. Accurate dispensing will mean not so many pills and potions end up in waste bins, read the suggestion.