“We have given ourselves the means not to call into question our policies”: Sébastien Vincini maintains his roadmap

Change of tone at the departmental council. A month ago, on December 10, the amphitheater of elected officials was invaded by angry agents who contested – as they still do today – the plan to eliminate 500 positions. The face-to-face meeting was tense with an alarmist Sébastien Vincini who recalled the need to find €164 million to complete the budget following the loss of revenue and the tightening announced by the Barnier government.

This Wednesday, during the greetings to the press, the socialist president of the departmental council wanted to be reassuring: “I will be able to present a balanced budget in March which takes into account national uncertainties. In 2025, we will stay the course” , he said, declaring that here, there would be no “announcement of a major untenable (savings, editor's note) plan or financial cavalry.”

No reversing

Consequence: “no public policy will be abandoned”, affirmed Sébastien Vincini who cited one by one the major chapters of a “preserved” historic departmental action: education with renovations and construction of colleges; solidarity with “the deployment” of Maisons des solidarités; child protection; the fight against violence against women; help for the elderly; investment in favor of ecology, mobility and communities…

Why this displayed optimism? Because the drain on the Bayrou government, and its Minister of the Economy Eric Lombard – whom Sébastien Vincini praised – promises to be less severe than with Michel Barnier.

But also because the Department's savings plan has borne fruit in the eyes of the president: “We have given ourselves the means not to call into question our policies.” There will therefore be no turning back from this point of view, as the unions are demanding. “I accept the painful choices. They are maintained,” affirmed Sébastien Vincini who, for the first time, provided a key indicator of his decision. A departmental agent costs €253 per year per inhabitant in Haute-Garonne compared to €200 for similar departments. Some €20 million in savings were therefore decided on the payroll.

But the Department is not yet done with the financial stranglehold. If the major policies are maintained, they are all scrutinized because there will be savings to be made in any case, recognized Sébastien Vincini. At the end of the year, the vice-presidents reviewed all expense items. Now comes the time for arbitration. In what proportions? On which chapters? Those which do not fall within the Department's missions? Sébastien Vincini said no more, referring to the next budget debate and then to the budget vote in March.