the essential
A degraded financial context, a finance law with still unclear contours at the national level; a drop in revenue and an increase in expenditure at the local level: the budgetary orientation debate of the Ariège departmental council took place in an atmosphere of concern, this Monday, November 25. But the department should maintain its level of investment by drawing on its reserves.
“It’s a context that we know little about, with great political uncertainty and little information on the decisions that could be taken in the weeks to come,” says Christine Téqui, president of the Ariège departmental council. , shortly before the plenary session devoted this Monday, November 25 to the budgetary orientation debate for 2025. But a known context, with a State debt of more than 1,000 billion euros and the prospect, for local authorities, of having to tighten our belts tightly while participating in the effort to restore public finances, even though the main revenues are in decline.
And the forecasts are not good. The department's main resource, the income from the tax collected on real estate transactions should fall by 5 million euros, while the credits granted under the Green Fund will fall by at least 1.5 million euros. Add to this other announced reductions such as the VAT freeze, an estimated loss of 400,000 euros, and the overall loss for the department should be at least 8.5 million euros, or 4.25%. of the overall budget.
“It doesn’t look huge, but it’s not a straw,” emphasizes Christine Téqui. “And when you have to cut, it’s not the easiest thing.” Especially since, at the same time, the evolution of solidarity expenses which weigh on the department should lead to an increase in operating costs of 4.4%, for an amount of 5.3 million euros. Overall impact for the community: 13.8 million euros.
60 million euros of investment in 2025
The department should, however, maintain its investments for 2025 at a level similar to that of 2024: a little more than 54 million euros, to which are added 5 million euros linked to two projects carried out on behalf of third parties, the bridge d’Ornolac – Ussat-les-Bains and the Varilhes barracks.
As always, the maintenance of the road network takes the lion's share with 17.3 million euros of investments announced, followed by buildings for 10.2 million euros. Among the main ones then come Very High Speed (8 million euros), the deployment of which will come to an end in 2025; planning and the environment (8 million euros); and the economy-tourism item for 7 million euros.
2024 saw the postponement of 5 million euros of investments, including the data center project. Its construction will be well underway in 2025, like the first works on the Salvayre diversion, the Ax-les-Thermes heat network, the energy renovation of the Pasteur college in Lavelanet or the acquisition of the Jules-Rousse nursing home in Tarascon.
Few projects postponed and no recourse to borrowing
No major project should also be postponed to 2025, with the exception of the supply of Lake Montbel via the Touyre, a controversial project which should only be launched in 2026. Only minor investments should therefore be delayed , according to a logic summarized by vice-president Alain Naudy: “We will first do the very urgent, then the urgent, and so on.”
But for this, the department will have to draw from the “prudential reserve” created in better times. A nest egg of 31 million euros from which 9.7 million euros will be taken, in order to meet needs without having to resort to borrowing, while the department can boast of a weight of the debt reduced to 4 euros per inhabitant.
“We do all this because we still can,” concludes Christine Téqui, “but with all the necessary caution. Tomorrow, everything may have changed and how can we live without money? Badly, very badly.”
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