The beach service concessions, granted through a tender plagued with irregularities, bring the Consell de Formentera about 1.5 million euros per year. That is, more than 3.5% of its annual budget.
As calculated by La Voz de Ibiza based on the bids of the winners of each of the 50 lots in tender and data from the Coastal Demarcation provided by sources of the Consell de Formentera itself, the 48 lots awarded (of the 50, one was deserted and in another the winner resigned) report, at least, a total of 1,481,028.37 euros per year. This amount is the result of the canon, a sort of annual rent, and the contribution in different concepts to the Consell de Formentera. The distribution is as follows:
- 1,260,314.6 euros is the total amount offered by the winners of the different lots. This figure is 246% higher than the total base fee for all the lots.
- 220,600 in concept of the contributions made to the Consell to obtain up to 15 additional points in the contest. These contributions represent 15% of the total collection for beach services. This is up to 7,000 euros per lot, an amount that is composed as follows:
- Each 300 euros offered to the lifeguard service is equivalent to 1 point, up to a maximum of 5 points, which can add up to 1,500 euros.
- Every 1,000 euros offered to environmental projects of the Consell added 1 point, up to a maximum of 5, which is equivalent to 5,000 euros.
- Every 100 euros offered to the waste collection service is added 1 point, up to a maximum of 5, i.e. a ceiling of 500 euros.
The total calculated is an estimate, since in some lots it has not been possible to access the minor contributions made to the Consell outside the canon. To this is added what each concessionaire contributes to Costas (the Consell only acts as a collector), totaling 72,664.35.
Chiringuitos
Among the 50 lots, 8 correspond to beach kiosks. Between them they contribute a total of at least 700,290 euros (47% of the total remaining to the Consell for the megaconcurso). This represents an average of 87,536.3 euros for each of these beach bars. However, the amounts are very different from each other. For example, the winner of lot 3 (on Cala Saona beach), which had a base fee of 20,000 euros to bid, offered 173,400 euros to win the tender (almost triple the amount of the second place bidder, a former concessionaire). At the other extreme, lot 27 (Es Copinyar beach) was tendered for 31,640, when the base fee was 17,000. All the beach bars that won the tender contribute 7,000 euros extra each year for lifeguard services, environmental projects and waste collection. These three items allowed them to score 15 points in the competition (15% of the total).
Sailing schools and hammocks
Sailing schools represent 6.37% of the total collected by the Consell (excluding the contribution from Costas) from beach service concessionaires: 94,458.85 euros. On average, each sailing school contributes 23,614.71 euros. The concessionaires of sunbeds and umbrellas represent 35 lots and 46% of the total collection, with 687,251.60. On average, each owner of a lot of hammocks contributes 19,635.76 euros. On the other hand, there is also a bookstore kiosk, which contributes a total of 3,289.37 euros. At the same time, there is great variability in the amount that each lot must pay to Costas. Those services that involve more square meters pay the most. Thus, for example, sailing schools contribute between 38 and 214% of the base fee of the tender, while in the case of concessionaires of sunbeds and umbrellas, this amount depends on the amount of these services.
A contest full of irregularities
The numerous complaints during the process of awarding the beach kiosks were the focal point of the confrontation between the former president of the Consell Llorenç Córdoba and the rest of Sa Unió. The process was peppered with irregularities: from changes in the way of scoring once the envelopes were opened to allegations of influence peddling and cross-contamination. After this extensive process, and after a season in which the beach kiosks were criticized for problems in the service provided (such as lack of lifeguards and lack of qualifications of staff), the concessionaires have asked the Consell for a reduction of the fee they themselves had offered. For this request, they have cited financial inconveniences.
