Cow can we project ourselves into the future of a municipality, when we only have two years ahead of us, sometimes less, before the next elections? The year 2024 was marked, in several towns in Libourne, by crises, the culmination of which led to the resignation of part of the municipal council, significant enough for full by-elections to be called. An expression that sounds like an oxymoron which nevertheless sets the tone. Branne, Rauzan and Lussac thus saw their executives renewed with a change of majority. How do the new mayors see the future with so little room for maneuver?
Serge Maugey, the new mayor of Branne, wants to see his team leave its mark on his two years in office.
Ph. B.
In Branne, “no more time to waste”
“We have passed the 100-day milestone,” says Serge Maugey, who succeeded Marie-Christine Faure in the mayor’s chair of Branne last April. “We spent the first weeks with our noses buried in papers,” he says. We must reconcile discovery of the files and the need to respond to the impatience of the Brannais. There is no more time to waste. » The latter, believes Serge Maugey, voted “against a team much more than for a program”.
We must therefore come to terms with the past and prepare for the future. The mayor welcomed the new municipal police officer, whose recruitment had been debated, given “an already significant payroll. » However, a brake was put on the projects of the old team, in particular for the benefit of the school, “finally becoming welcoming again”. “We also had the opportunity, thanks to a change of service provider, to register in the Cantine à 1 euro operation. An exceptional subsidy from the State helps reduce the cost of meals for the most modest households. »
What’s next? “We are going to work on securing the city crossing, one of the first things heard at a public meeting. But also around the college. » While conducting a financial audit. A way of making their mark on a mandate that they know is very short. “We will only have one budget to develop…”
L. D.
Christophe Québec had already sat in the majority alongside the emblematic mayor of Rauzan, Gérard César, now deceased
In Rauzan, the third mayor in five years
With the election of Christophe Québec on June 30, the Rauzannais discovered their third mayor in five years, even if the man already sat alongside Gérard César, just like his father before him. “From the beginning, I have reminded that I am elected for approximately twenty months, and not for a six-year mandate. We are therefore only going to act on essential subjects,” announces the councilor who does not feel justified in committing his municipality in the long term. “In twenty months, we can leave. »
His predecessors initiated projects. Among which, in 2018, the establishment of a town center planning commission. “At the time, there were a lot of grants from the Department, this is no longer the case. And, during meetings, we feel that it is no longer people’s priority. They want sidewalks, to be able to park in front of their homes, but not necessarily such an expensive project. » Christophe Québec is first considering concrete, inexpensive actions, with the mantra of helping citizens get through this economic crisis. His ideas: launch group purchases for pellets, fuel oil, etc., finalize municipal mutual insurance or even better promote the support provided by France Services.
“Our objective is not to increase taxes, to shift certain efforts and to provide money for the next term. Whether it’s ours or not”
Finances are considered correct “but less and less brilliant” given the declining state allocations. “Our objective is not to increase taxes, to shift certain efforts and to provide money for the next term. Whether it’s ours or not. » Because Christophe Québec is announcing it today: he will be a candidate for succession in the spring of 2026.
Archives Sandrine Fernandez
Didier Gatinel, today mayor, must assume the legacy of the previous team.
In Lussac, the fear of debt
The room for maneuver is even narrower for Didier Gatinel, whose list beat that of the outgoing mayor of Lussac, Dorothée Breton, in mid-September, leaving him only eighteen months to prepare for the future. “It was the project to redevelop the town’s public square that triggered our action,” recalls the new mayor of the former cantonal capital. A project valued at one million euros which is blocking the new municipality. The mayor would like to lower the cost, while reinstalling parking spaces. But the first archaeological surveys carried out on site by Inrap revealed remains. “We have to wait for the report of the preventive searches. » And the team must face planned work on the church “with no other funding than that of the municipality”.
“The previous team validated a loan of 1.467 million euros to carry out these projects, a sum which is already in the municipality’s accounts,” indicates Didier Gatinel. While we had already borrowed for a building made available for a bakery. Our debt is becoming significant. » Didier Gatinel intends to spend the coming months looking for the best possible arrangements, and trying to find subsidies for the roof of the church. While managing everyday life in Lussac. “People trusted us. But there is a real requirement behind…”
