The Department of Haute-Garonne has calculated that it should make 164 million euros in savings, including 50 million imposed by the 2025 Finance Bill. A budget cut which risks having repercussions on residents.
The announcement of the 2025 Finance Bill (PLF) last October was a real blow to communities. As a reminder, the government is asking them for a financial effort of 5 billion euros. And this, “even though communities only represent 3.5% of the public deficit and have already made millions of savings in 2024 to balance their budgets”, denounces Sébastien Vincini, the president of the Departmental Council of the Haute-Garonne, in a press release. This announcement did not come at the right time for the Department which, like many others, is faced with an “unprecedented drop in revenue”. The cause, in particular, is “the collapse of the real estate market”.
An “unprecedented” drop in revenue for Haute-Garonne…
“In view of the monthly transfer tax payments (taxes on the purchase of real estate for the benefit of communities, editor's note) collected to date, our department should suffer a further loss of revenue of 73 million euros compared to the previous year, which adds to a decrease of 90 million euros in 2023. Subject to the results of the last quarter, this represents a cumulative loss of 253 million euros in two years », Indicate the elected officials of the Department. Sébastien Vincini thus reports “a very difficult situation”. “The measures announced with a view to the PLF 2025 now make it unsustainable,” say the elected officials. The latter would, in fact, impact the Department's operating revenue to the tune of “an additional 50 million euros”.
“In order to present a balanced initial budget, an effort of 164 million euros should therefore be carried out,” note the elected officials. In fact, the need in the territory is estimated at 1,670 million euros, of which 1,618 would be covered by revenue. But to this are added 62 million euros of gross savings and the 50 million euros of savings required by the PLF. An effort considered “considerable”, especially since the community has already had to make trade-offs “to ensure sound management of its finances” in 2024. “In Haute-Garonne, even the cessation of all our proactive policies would only generate “a saving of around thirty million euros, where we must seek 164 million euros”, underline the elected officials.
… Coupled with an increase in expenses
It must be said that in addition to seeing its revenues drop, the community is suffering “ the increase in expenses without being able to control it », points out Sébastien Vincini. “Our demographic dynamics, which are accompanied by an aging population, inexorably lead to an increase in social spending and a need for public services in the territories,” note the departmental elected officials. Indeed, Haute-Garonne is one of the departments where the number of inhabitants increased the most between 2015 and 2021. But given that “revenues are not correlated with the evolution of the population”, the president of the Department fears, in view of its “unsustainable financial situation”, “serious repercussions on the lives of fellow citizens”.
“Departmental expenditure has a strong social utility capable of reducing income inequalities, through the transfers they make in terms of social action, education and even housing. But the absence of appropriate fiscal leverage, the alteration of the real financial autonomy of the departments and the financial disengagement of the State have amplified this deterioration, even though the Haute-Garonne territory produces wealth which should be able to be redistributed to meet social needs and contribute to the reduction of inequalities,” declare the departmental elected officials. And the savings requested by the government should not help anything. On the contrary, they could lead to “ a deterioration of local public services and social breakdown unprecedented,” according to Sébastien Vincini.
Elected officials from Haute-Garonne call on the government
This is why elected officials adopted, during the session of the Departmental Assembly on Tuesday, October 15, a resolution “relating to the financial situation of the Departments” addressed in particular to the Prime Minister. “Despite political differences, without a stable majority in Parliament, a dialogue between the State and local authorities must be initiated, we must build consensus and find ways to place public service and the general interest at the center of concerns and decisions”, wish the elected officials. They are already asking, via their resolution, “theabandonment of the measures included in the PLF 2025in the state of the parliamentary discussion, aimed at limiting the resources of the departments”, “a clear adequacy between the resources and the expenditure of the Departments”, “the financial compensation of Individual Solidarity Allowances” or even “the adoption, as quickly as possible, a programming law on “old age””.
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