The Regional Court of Auditors carried out a “flash” audit on the sale of the Annonciades and the Ouvroir de l'Hôpital to Julien Cohen. This concludes that “a transfer procedure is underway, generally in compliance with the legal framework”. Explanations.
The “Annonciades” collective had the merit of triggering this procedure on the part of the Regional Court of Auditors, which therefore ordered a “flash” audit which was deliberated on September 3, 2024 and made public last week.
The report from the Regional Court of Auditors indicates that a request for annulment against the decision to sell the Annonciades and the Ouvroir to Julien Cohen was filed with the Administrative Court of Châlons-en-Champagne on March 27, 2024 by the “Annonciades” collective. The collective believes that the sale price is underestimated and that there is insufficient compensation.
On the other hand, the Regional Court of Auditors returns to one of the twists and turns of this sale. Indeed, a free appeal, obtained by the collective on January 26, 2024, forced the director of the hospital at the time to cancel the sales agreement signed on December 7, 2023. The cancellation took place on February 9, 2024. The reason was a concern about downgrading the public domain of the Annonciades building.
A hospital cannot sell property if it still has use for it. However, at this period, the entire hospital administration was located in Annonciades. It was then necessary to urgently move these services to a floor of the hospital which was to accommodate the SSR service… The windows, a calorie sieve, were changed immediately. A project which shocked the staff because when patients were there, their renovation was not up to date…
A gain of 75% compared to the initial price of Annonciades
The Regional Court of Auditors emphasizes that the decision to sell and declassify, this time in accordance with the rules, “does not indicate the identity of the purchaser, his domiciliation and the terms of the transfer”. It is moreover these two points which are highlighted in the intermediate conclusions of the Regional Court of Auditors.
“Still in progress, the procedure implemented by the establishment is generally in compliance with the legal and regulatory framework in force. However, points weakening the validity of the proposed sale must be consolidated as quickly as possible, in particular the express designation of the buyer and the reasons for the sale price. Since the sale was signed, it is hoped that this has been rectified, this report dates from September 3.
In part, the Regional Court of Auditors agrees with the “Annonciades” collective on the absence of an explanation for the sale. “As the estimate of the market value of the property was mentioned in the first decision (to sell, Editor's note) and known to the authorities, it would have been desirable for the setting of the transfer price at a lower amount to be justified,” underlines the court.
The sale price does not make any particular remarks, however. The Regional Court of Auditors notes that the hospital called on the services of the Domaines twice for a re-evaluation. The price displayed is €380,000, “i.e. a discount of 23.5% compared to the market value estimated by the Estates service for these two properties (€496,800)”, underlines the court which notes however that “the “the establishment will realize a capital gain of €338,906”.
And further, “the sale operation is also favorable to the establishment because it does not sell at a loss since it manages to generate a gain of 75% compared to the acquisition price, i.e. €163,778 original “. An annual saving of “€83,229 in the costs of the main budget of the establishment” will be made. But, “it is up to the judge on the merits to rule on the regularity of the price fixed”.
Ph. L.
A follow-up
The reflection of the Regional Court of Auditors is global. She was interested in all of the hospital's real estate assets with a view to the creation of a new establishment in 2028 at the Citadel. “As such, the municipality and the hospital center requested on June 9, 2023, the public land establishment of the Grand Est (EPFGE) to carry out a prospective study on the subject,” indicates the Regional Court of Auditors.
“As part of the new territorial medical project, the establishment must continue this process of rationalizing its assets, in order to retain only that necessary for its public service mission and proceed with the sale of unoccupied buildings in the long term, of which it does not “does not have the financial capacity to ensure its maintenance and sustainability,” we can read in the interim conclusion. As of December 31, 2023, the cumulative deficit was 20.15 million euros.
