The municipality of San Jose has approved a P430 million budget for 2011 that critics claim was a product of an impulsive administration.

This year’s budget, approved by the San Jose Municipal Council on January 7, is 166 percent higher than the previous year budget of P161.6 million.

Of the P430,200,000 budget, 24 percent will go to services including salaries, while 40 percent is appropriated for maintenance and other operating expenses.

Capital outlay including the municipality-wide development fund eats up 18 percent of the total outlay, while the rest is allocated for development projects, gender and development, among others.

Taking into consideration the average annual locally-generated income of P45,000,000 plus the internal revenue allotment of more or less P140,000,000, critics claim that the budget was a product of an impulsive administration. But others consider it as ambitious yet attainable.

San Jose has rebounded a full-year gross receipts of an estimated P500,000,000 for 2010 driven mainly by shares from tobacco excise tax and prudent collections on the second half.

San Jose aims to invest more on tourism and infrastructure to pump-prime the local economy while reaching out even those in the grassroots of the society, thus, providing city-like services and facilities.

Among the infrastructure projects to be implemented for the year are the new two-storey public market, new municipal police station, improvement of the municipal gymnasium, improvement of the municipal park, Acacia Park and Children’s Playground, uniform food stalls, grand terminal, improvement of the municipal plaza, Aroma Beachwalk, Hall of Justice, and several barangay and farm-to-market roads. Mini piers are also set for construction to aid in the inter-island tourism activities in the area.

The local government is also gearing towards strengthening the ecological solid waste management programs, the agricultural sectors, the children’s and youth sector, among others.

Local officials headed by Mayor Jose T. Villarosa and Vice-Mayor Rey C. Ladaga are aiming to make San Jose a component city in the next three to four years as collections have significantly doubled.