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The Friborg prefects wish to make their role in supporting municipalities better known.
Nicolas Kilchoer (right) underlined the importance of supporting municipalities in the work of prefectures. © Charly Rappo
Published on 07.05.2024
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
They advise as much as they monitor. Meeting on Tuesday in Bulle, on the occasion of their annual press conference, the seven prefects of the canton chose to focus on supporting the municipalities. This important task of prefectures is often unknown to citizens.
“We really have this double hat: we are there to help, but also to act if it does not work,” underlines the prefect of Broye Nicolas Kilchoer, who currently chairs the Conference of prefects.
Advisory role
“We really play a local authority role.” The prefects explain that they respond on a daily basis to local elected officials or members of administrations. The questions concern themes as varied as the relationship with citizens, management, the holding of assemblies or the organization of elections. The prefects are also involved in the training of elected officials, for example on construction law. “We often prefer to answer questions upstream than open administrative investigations,” continued Nicolas Kilchoer, before focusing on the means available in terms of municipal surveillance.
Regarding the preliminary investigation, magistrate Broyard notes that it allows us to take stock of the situation. “We are looking to see if there is a need to act further.” The preliminary investigation deserves to be clarified, according to his colleague François Genoud. “This notion is widely used, but is only found in the implementing regulations, where it appears only once,” observes the prefect of Veveyse. He underlines the importance of this step which often requires more time than the legislation provides.
If no solution then appears, an administrative investigation is opened. Several measures can be taken at the end of the investigation, such as giving a warning to a municipal elected official, transmitting the file to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, reorganizing the Municipal Council, changing the position of trustee or even transferring the file to the Council of State. The latter can, if necessary, dismiss a municipal councilor or place the municipality under supervision.
“It is a legal system which works quite well in our opinion,” notes magistrate Broyard. “Today, out of 126 municipalities in the canton, we have around ten which are experiencing difficulties,” he says. “This is a relatively low percentage, which corresponds to difficulties found elsewhere in the business world.”
“When we intervene, we do not aim for perfect functioning, but for the municipality to function, because no municipality, service or prefecture functions perfectly,” comments Lise-Marie Graden. The prefect of Sarine indicates aside that the return of the final report of the administrative investigation into the Bulle Municipal Council is expected at the end of June. It is on this basis that she will order the closure of the investigation by choosing “the measures which seem appropriate”.
The trustee’s investigation
Nicolas Kilchoer recalls that trustees, presidents of intercommunal associations or general councils share some of these skills with prefects. “A trustee can also open an administrative investigation if he considers that there is a problem in his municipality.” Although “little used”, this prerogative was recently used by the trustee of Estavayer-le-Lac, who opened a preliminary investigation in the context of the conflict opposing him to another elected official (our edition of March 27) . “I find it responsible that we undertake to open a preliminary investigation at this level,” greets the magistrate aside. He recalls that the preliminary investigation report will be presented to the entire Municipal Council. “We sometimes forget that municipal elected officials can act upstream without resorting to the prefect.”
“We sometimes forget that municipal elected officials can act upstream”
Nicolas Kilchoer
The prefect of Broye also cites the example of the commune of Gletterens, under administrative investigation led by his lieutenant as investigator. This municipality is at the same time supported by a mentor in the person of Willy Schorderet, former prefect of Glâne. A valued mentor role, as it allows a distinction from the role of supervisor of the prefect. “Mentoring is perhaps a function that we could engrave into the legal basis,” believes Nicolas Kilchoer.
Open doors
The prefects also took stock of the past year. “We have an increase in criminal orders and appeals against municipal decisions,” notes Nicolas Kilchoer. “There is a certain quarrelsomeness or “legalization” of society.”
Recalling that the prefect is the only regional elected official, Lise-Marie Graden underlined “the strength” of this institution between municipalities and State. His Gruyère counterpart, Vincent Bosson, adds: “As more and more issues are regional, it makes sense to consolidate this level.”
The prefects also want to reach out to the population. Prefect of Singine, Manfred Raemy indicated that each prefecture will organize an open day from the fall. The idea: to present the varied tasks of prefectures and regional associations.
>https://www.fr.ch/diaf/pref/faits-marquants-et-chiffres-cles-la-conference-des-prefets
