There are savings to be made, and it is the colleges and departmental roads that suffer. The Gironde department announces this Monday “postpone the construction of two new colleges”. That of Mérignac-Beutre, which was planned for 2027 or 2028, will not be built. Another project, that of an establishment to be built in the south of the metropolis, without a specific date or location, is also canceled. The department also announces “extend the average road repair time”, who goes from 18 to 23 years old.
The elected officials of the departmental council made these decisions this Monday, in amending decision no. 2 of the community budget, which allows the 2024 budget to be rectified. The latter is reduced by 31.1 million euros in VAT revenue. , because of overly optimistic forecasts from the State, explains the Department. The community also notes that it will have to pay an additional 9 million in terms of solidarity, because of a “increase in populations in difficulty”, notably for social assistance for children (ASE), with an additional 5 million for “accommodation and prevention children in care.
A “deadly budgetary equation”
On the savings side, the department claims “an effort” to constrain its spending by 12 million euros, including 1.5 million euros less in the budget “assigned to the development of sporting practice and support for community life”, as well as the same amount taken for “aids and devices intended for integration and aid to the most precarious.”
In a speech delivered on the same date, the president of the Department, Jean-Luc Gleyze, points out a “deadly budgetary equation which dictates the government program”. “It's less the future of the departments that matters to me, than that of the Girondines and the Girondins.” adds the elected socialist, who notes that the departments weigh “44% of the effort of the 5 billion necessary for the State's budgetary balance”. He calls for a mobilization on December 14 at the Gironde Building, headquarters of the Department.
