The Calpe City Council has presented the draft municipal budget for the 2026 fiscal year, with a total amount of 45,867,550 euros. A document that consolidates the management model based on efficiency, financial balance, and tangible improvement of public services for citizens.
The budget proposal responds to a context marked by the return of fiscal rules and rising costs, but maintains a commitment to rigorous planning, tax relief, promotion of useful investments, and social coverage. The economic solvency of the City Council has allowed the opening of two interest-bearing accounts that are expected to generate revenues of 695,100 euros in 2026.
Fiscal measures that ease the burden on families and businesses
The revenue budget preserves stability and maintains measures that favor local economic activity: the exemption from the business opening fee is extended, as well as the 95% bonus on inheritance transfers, the IBI discounts for installing solar panels and energy efficiency improvements, and the 5.04% reduction in the urban IBI rate is maintained.
In addition, an income of €575,000 per year is included from the new regulated parking contract, and fees for terraces and events in the low season are suspended as a measure to support commerce and hospitality.
Efficient and service-oriented spending
The current expenditure chapter is slightly reduced (-2.37%) but maintains and even improves key services: street cleaning, beach maintenance, lifeguard services, and urban upkeep. An allocation is included to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Moros y Cristianos, and another to launch the First Nationalities Fair in Calpe.
In current transfers (grants), the budget is increased by 15.61% to 4.57 million euros, which will allow for strengthening areas such as housing aid, the youth rental voucher, incentives for hybrid and electric vehicles, IBI (property tax) bonuses for energy efficiency improvements, and transport aid for students. A line is also introduced for social projects by local nonprofit associations.
This chapter also includes the Public Transport Plan with an allocation of 460,000 euros for the expansion and reorganization of routes and schedules.
Strengthening municipal staff to improve services
In 2026, eight new positions will be created to adapt the workforce to the municipality's needs: two early childhood education technicians, an industrial technical engineer, a maintenance technical assistant, a social educator, a higher-level equality technician, and an administrative staff member. The creation of these positions is offset by the elimination of six others, maintaining financial prudence.
A planned investment focused on real needs.
The investment chapter reaches 3.6 million euros compared to almost 13 million last year, representing a 72% decrease as this year it does not include the Pla Edificant actions corresponding to the new IES and the adaptation of the plot for the public CEE Gargasindi.
Actions considered include the adaptation of Vial J (€320,000), the urbanization project of Vial T (€100,000), repair of the Calalga promenade (€100,000), Barranc del Quisi (€100,000), reinforcement of lighting in housing developments (€154,000), sidewalk accessibility (€250,000), sanitation and stormwater (€1,106,134), electrical connection of IES Les Salines (€150,000), rehabilitation of the Pierre la Fleure mural (€60,000), expansion of urban gardens (€45,000), the Manzanera dog park (€121,000) or improvements to the Ifac sports pavilion (€115,000). A fund is also allocated for drafting strategic projects that will be financed with surpluses, with a particular focus on housing initiatives.
In addition, multi-year projects are consolidated through 2029 to ensure their staged and efficient execution, such as the renovation of the Fossa promenade, improvement of the beach foot-washing system, renovation of the Main Square, the new 21st-century tourist office, or the new CRISOL (recovery centre for people with mental health issues).
A responsible budget that strengthens municipal solvency.
The Calpe City Council has maintained zero financial debt since 2022, ensuring economic stability and the ability to undertake strategic investments. The budget has been prepared on time and properly, which will allow procedures to be anticipated and execution deadlines to be improved.
This 2026 budget is not expensive, but it is ambitious: it strengthens services, maintains social coverage, promotes saving and useful investment, and consolidates a clear roadmap to improve the lives of the residents of Calpe.
Statements from the different municipal groups
During the plenary debate, the mayoress of Calpe, Ana Sala, argued that the 2026 budget “is not complacent, but prudent, realistic, and at the same time ambitious in its execution,” with the aim that its effects “are felt in the daily lives of the residents.” She recalled recent decisions, such as allocating €120,000 from the protocol and advertising budgets to help those affected by the DANA in Valencia, “prioritizing people over events and promotion.” Sala also stated that the City Council is reviewing the urban solid waste fee to adapt it to the social and economic reality of the municipality and that an external audit of the cleaning and collection service has been commissioned "to more accurately control the performance of the concessionaire," emphasizing that the accounts have been prepared with "prudence" following the recommendations of the municipal Audit Office.
The spokesperson for Compromís and councillor, Ximo Perles, defended that "this is not the budget we would have liked to make, but it is the one we have been able to make under the current fiscal rules." He pointed out that today more services are offered, such as building maintenance or a municipal swimming pool that can be accessed free of charge by people with conditions like fibromyalgia or users of social services. He added that it is true that "we cannot solve all the problems of all people, but we can improve their quality of life."
In his speech, the Socialist Party councillor, Guillermo Sendra, focused on defending the investment plan included in the budget, pointing out that, although it would always be desirable to have more resources, the presented accounts reflect a “genuine intention to unblock old projects” that have been carried over from previous terms. Sendra reproached the opposition for questioning spending priorities “without specifying which actions should not be invested in and which should replace them” and highlighted that in 2026, significant projects are planned, such as the development of Vial J, the renovation of the Fossa promenade, the remodelling of Plaza Mayor, the new tourist office, and the CRISOL project, in addition to investments in lighting, urban developments, and sewer and stormwater networks, which, in his view, respond to the real needs of citizens.
Councillor Juan Manuel del Pino as spokesperson for Somos Calpe, highlighted the agreement reached within the current governing team, which he referred to as a “tripartite,” emphasizing that it shows that “it is possible for different political and ideological sensitivities to also reach an agreement on economic matters.” Del Pino pointed out that, beyond the political debate, “what is perceived in the streets is that important things are being done that improve the lives of the people of Calpe,” and defended that the presented budget goes in that direction.
On the part of the opposition, the spokesperson for Defendamos Calpe, Toni Tur, expressed his doubts about the real effectiveness of the budget document and stated that “it has more political and publicity value than practical effects.” As an example, he cited the low execution of certain cultural grant allocations approved in previous fiscal years. Tur also regretted that the municipal groups had little time for a detailed analysis of the accounts and demanded that the budgets be prepared well in advance, “with more debate and greater consensus” among all the parties represented in the council.
In the same critical vein, the spokesperson for the Partido Popular, Miguel Crespo, considered that much of the investment listed in Chapter 6 “are old acquaintances, repairs, and projects already announced on other occasions,” and expressed doubts that the priorities of the governing team align with those of the citizens. He also referred to the waste fee, noting that the revenue is around seven million euros while the cost of the service is about four and a half million, and pointed out that, according to what residents convey, “the level of satisfaction with cleanliness is low.”
You can watch the extraordinary council meeting on the Calpe City Council’s YouTube channel here: