The Loire-Atlantique departmental council will have to “tighten its belt” announces Bernard Lebeau

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“We are in deep reflection while waiting for the budget vote next February”alert Bernard Lebeau, departmental advisor of the canton of Pont-Château. And for good reason, the Prime Minister's requests made to the departments are very restrictive.

“The Government asked us to tighten our belts, to the tune of 10% to 15% savings on all expenses. » To accompany everything, Michel Barnier mentioned the wish to reduce transfer taxes for valuable consideration (DMTO), also called “notary fees”. A “significant windfall in a dynamic department attracting 16,000 to 17,000 new inhabitants per year”observe Bernard Lebeau.

The room for maneuver for 2025 seems limited, both for expenditure considered “optional” such as culture, sport or tourism, as well as for “obligatory” expenditure. The departmental advisor announces it: “We are not going to make savings on skills such as early childhood, child protection or on the Active Solidarity Income (RSA) from which 29,000 beneficiaries benefit. » Just as Loire-Atlantique had the desire toincrease the number of professional firefighters: “We will accept this choice. »

Subsidies to be “sorted”?

There is then little room left for planing. Except “perhaps by sorting through communities to re-evaluate subsidies”. Bernard Lebeau reminds us, “the departments are the communities which most support the municipalities and communities of municipalities“. However, some inequalities between them may remain, in particular because “municipalities have not always requested subsidies when setting up at the start of their mandate”. The councilor of the canton of Pontchâteau nevertheless specifies that, if it were necessary to “not spend in 2025” on certain skills or communities, “this would not mean that studies will not be carried out on what is already committed”.

Sufficient efforts to meet the Government's demands? Bernard Lebeau is not convinced: “We are asked for a saving of 71 million euros before negotiations, but even if it were 30 or 40 million, it would also be very complicated! »

Present at the Assises des Départements de France last Friday, Michel Barnier announced the possibility of an increase in DMTO of 0.5 points. While waiting for concrete actions, Bernard Lebeau is sad: “We are as unhappy as stones, because we want to be able to support citizens at every moment of their lives. »

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