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Govern to spend €13 million on Formentera in 2017

foto presentacio pressupostosCatalina Cladera, minister of the tax office in Palma, together with the Govern balear's director general of budgets and finances, Joan Carrió, presented today the Balearic Islands' 2017 budget for Formentera. Also on hand for the gathering were Formentera Council (CiF) president Jaume Ferrer, economy councillor Bartomeu Escandell and the rest of the local councillors comprising the island's governing team.

According to Cladera, the draft law underpinning the region's general 2017 budget for Formentera sets out €13.1 million, or an 8.9% increase on the funding received by the CiF in 2016. Meanwhile, financing from the Govern and a consortium of public sector agencies (referred to as Sector Públic Instrumental) will grow 1.5% percent.

Of the total figure, €6.1m will be paid out in current transfers as per the regional law on funding for the island councils (€5.9m of which is an advance on the 2017 package and €0.2m is payment of an advance from 2015). The figure is up €0.5m, or 8.9%, from the amount received in 2016.

Capital investment on Formentera, both from the ministries of the regional government in Palma and public sector agencies, has climbed 1.5% to €5.6m. The lion's share of the upswing will be in water treatment and in education.

Councillor Escandell, of the tax office, hailed the €500,000 year-on-year budget ascension, a change he said would be reflected in priority actions at the Sant Ferran primary school (which has a line item of €1.5m) and environmental projects like water treatment plant maintenance and operationalising the new irrigation reservoir.

Escandell also alluded to plans by Silvia Tur, a representative in the Balearic parliament, to present amendments requesting Formentera's budgetary allocation be increased. Of the different amendments, the most noteworthy relates to a deal struck between the CiF and the Govern and entails more money to cover costs of rubbish transfer. It is hoped that the €550,000 initially set aside by the Palma administration can be raised so as to cover 100% of waster transfer costs —roughly €1m— by the end of the current legislative session.