The Audit Office denounces that Toni Pérez's government did not provide the information required to audit municipal contracting

An autonomous body has again informed Toni Pérez's government of lack of collaboration. The deputy spokesman, Sergi Castillo, has explained that, on this occasion, it has been the Audit Office that in its audit report on contracting in local entities during the 2022 financial year, which will be reported on at the plenary session next Monday, denounces that Benidorm City Council did not provide all the documentation requested during the audit.

Castillo has pointed out that the document, which reflects the work of verifying compliance with current legislation on contracting in various municipalities, indicates that the Council sent the annual list of contracts signed in 2022 late, concerning the legally established deadline as set out in article 335.1 of the LCSP. In addition, in compliance with article 346.3 of the LCSP, it stresses that there is no record of the communication of the contracts analysed to the Public Sector Contracts Registry for registration.

The councillor also pointed out that the report specifies that the checks carried out by the Office of the Comptroller on the information extracted from the database of the Accountability Platform revealed discrepancies between the annual lists of contracts signed and the submission of the contracting files. At this point, the Office of the Comptroller highlights that Benidorm City Council heads the list of entities with the highest number of contracts not submitted for verification, with a total of 10 contracts for a total amount of 11,430,379 euros.

Regarding analysing the non-minor and minor contracts selected for detailed review, Castillo stated that “Benidorm City Council once gets a bad deal”. On the one hand, the contract for public lighting in Benidorm - Phase II for an amount of 2,089,033 euros (VAT not included) was analysed. The Audit Office detected that the following documentation necessary for the complete audit had not been provided: notification of the award to the rest of the bidders, audit report of the contract, proof of the submission of the contract to the Public Sector Contracts Registry, documentation that the successful bidder has to present and a duly informed final acceptance certificate of the supply. Certain differences between the contract price and the total amount of the invoices provided were also not clarified. As for the minor contract analysed, the entity selected the repair of containers at Plaza de l'Infant for an amount of 39,998 euros (VAT not included) and denounces that the City Council did not provide the supporting documentation for the approval of the expenditure by the contracting body, nor the corresponding invoices or the supporting documentation for the payment.

Finally, the deputy spokesman has criticised this new episode of lack of transparency and collaboration of the government team of Toni Pérez with the Audit Office, which adds to the clashes with the Ombudsman, the Valencian Council of Transparency or the Anti-Fraud Agency. “What Toni Pérez should do is better office management, stop so many trips and photos around the province, giving out awards and attending meals, make the local administration comply with its obligations in terms of transparency and stop confronting the institutions,” he said.