Santa Cruz City Council Faces Financial Accountability Issues with Atende
The City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is currently under scrutiny for failing to settle a debt of €1.3 million owed to Atende, the provider of home assistance services, for December 2024 and January 2025. This situation was brought to light by Charín González, the councillor for Social Action, during a plenary session held in October.
In addition to the acknowledged amount, there is an unconfirmed debt of approximately €5 million, which corresponds to about €660,000 per month for the period from February to September of the current year. Despite inquiries from opposition members during the session and follow-up questions posed by Atlántico Hoy, the City Council has not clarified whether these additional amounts have been addressed.
Details of the Outstanding Debt
González confirmed that the only invoices recognized so far are those for December and January, totaling €1.3 million. Patricia Hernández, the leader of the opposition from the PSOE, emphasized that regardless of the status of the invoices, they must be paid if not returned within the legally stipulated timeframe. She stated, “According to the Public Sector Contract Law, invoices must be returned or accepted within 30 days; otherwise, they are considered due.”
Sources from the Socialist Group have pointed out that there is a crucial difference between the accounting of invoices and the actual existence of the debt. They noted that if an invoice is not rejected within the specified time, the obligation to pay is recognized. Furthermore, they claimed that these invoices have not even been processed by the Intervention office.
Issues with Payment Procedures
Investigations by Atlántico Hoy revealed that two files initiated by the Santa Cruz City Council to process payments for invoices from January to June were officially opened on September 25, 2025. These files only include the invoices without any record of completed payments. Notably, invoices for July, August, and September, each likely amounting to around €660,000, are missing from these records.
Efforts to reach Charín González for further comments were unsuccessful, and the City Council has stated that it lacks information regarding the payment status of invoices from February to September. Atende has also refrained from confirming or denying the existence of the debt.
Concerns Regarding Future Payments
The Atende works committee has publicly expressed that, as of May 2025, the company has not received any payments since December. This raises questions about the ongoing financial obligations of the City Council towards Atende, which has been providing home assistance services since taking over from CLECE in 2023. Atende’s contract expired on November 30, 2024, following two formal extensions. Subsequently, the City Council allowed the contract to lapse and negotiated a continuity agreement with Atende, which was deemed an irregular continuation rather than a formal extension.
Legal Opinions on Contractual Irregularities
The Consultative Council of the Canary Islands issued an opinion on October 2, 2025, at the request of Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez, aimed at annulling the irregular extension of the contract. The Council determined that a “tacit extension” had occurred, which is prohibited due to non-compliance with legal procedures, rendering it null and void. However, the Council acknowledged Atende’s right to payment for services rendered, but only for the €1.3 million mentioned by González, as these were the only invoices submitted for review.
Moreover, the Consultative Council criticized the Santa Cruz City Council for frequently using administrative reviews to process payments without valid contracts, which violates principles of transparency and competition. The Council warned that the fragmentation of review procedures for billing periods of the same contract undermines the intended purpose of administrative reviews.
Potential Legal Repercussions
The opinion also cautioned that the recurrence of such practices could lead to accusations of abuse of rights or legal fraud, potentially resulting in administrative or criminal liability for the involved authorities or public administration personnel. The Council emphasized that this exceptional mechanism should not become a standard contracting method for public administrations and urged the immediate initiation of proper contracting procedures in accordance with LCSP regulations.
Recognition of Irregular Practices
The report from the Consultative Council included a statement from the mayor’s request, acknowledging that the need to continue providing uninterrupted public home assistance from December 2024 was in violation of administrative contracting rules. Atende has also informed the City Council that it could no longer absorb the costs associated with executing the contract, indicating that a regular extension was not feasible.
