The town of Moutier must be transferred from the canton of Bern to that of Jura within a year. The Avenir Berne Romande project must reorganize the Berne authorities located in the municipality. But its implementation turns out to be more complicated than expected.
The Avenir Berne Romande (ABR) project wishes to take advantage of the transfer of Moutier to reorganize the administrative authorities of the Bernese Jura. The basic idea provided for two main poles.
The first was to consolidate taxes and the land register in a former factory in Tavannes. A “justice and police” center was to take place in the village next door, in a new building to be constructed. The two sites were to represent approximately 200 employees. But the project has already encountered pitfalls.
The old factory to be renovated, Tavannes Machines, is in reality in much worse condition than the canton imagined. The current occupants even had to evacuate the premises this summer, due to the risk of collapse of the building, which has since been consolidated.
The work will nevertheless be more extensive than expected. This center will therefore not be operational in 2026, when the authorities concerned must have left Moutier. In the meantime, temporary premises are planned, notably in Bienne for the court.
Budget restriction
Second problem, the building which was to house the justice and police center will simply not see the light of day, after a decision by the Grand Council. The canton of Bern, in debt, has had to review its investment priorities for the coming years. The authorities wanted to postpone construction for ten years. This delay was unthinkable for the region’s elected officials.
>> Read about it: Temporary premises for justice and police in the Bernese Jura have been found
“With a ten-year postponement, in addition to the various complications that there could be, the deputation feared that justice would never return to the Bernese Jura and that it was a disguised way of abandoning the project,” reports in La Matinale Karim Saïd, president of the French-speaking deputation to the Bernese Grand Council.
In our country, all minorities have their judicial bodies on their territory. This is something very important to keep
“As it was important to us that justice could return to the Bernese Jura, we proposed a plan B to ensure that this was indeed the case.” Like some residents of the Bernese Jura, the elected official fears that all institutions will end up permanently in Bienne.
-Geographically, such a grouping could make sense. But Karim Saïd points out that the problem is administrative. “There is the law on special status which protects the French-speaking minority in the canton of Bern. In our country, all minorities have their judicial bodies on their territory. This is something very important to preserve.”
What signal to the population?
With the departure of Moutier, the French-speaking population of Bern was reduced. The Avenir Berne Romande project was a signal from the canton of Berne sent to the population to show them that it had not forgotten it, despite the departure of the Provost city. But with these pitfalls, the message seems to get a little blurred.
The canton is investing tens of millions in these various projects, which will be very beneficial for the population.
Pierre Alain Schnegg, State Councilor who occupies the seat reserved for the Bernese Jura, nevertheless wants to be reassuring. “There is no reason to worry. The project has been decided and validated. The credits were also given by the Grand Council. The canton is investing tens of millions in these various projects, which will be very beneficial for the population This is not a project that is done for ten or fifteen years, but for thirty, even fifty years.”
These various pitfalls are normal given the context, assures Mario Annoni, former State Councilor and project manager of Avenir Berne Romande. “The ABR project is under time pressure. We have to move the administration, the courts, the public prosecutor’s office, the police. We have to make investments in just a few years and that means we don’t have the possibility of analyzing, planning and preparing with the same time available as in usual projects.”
An opportunity to seize
Mario Annoni does not believe that the project was too ambitious, despite the limited time available. “There is an opportunity to concentrate the entire administration of the Bernese Jura in one place. It is good for the population, it is good for those who need this administration. It is also an opportunity to make economies of scale, because we are not obliged to provide several services in different administrative and public buildings. I think it was an opportunity to be seized.” On the side of the Bernese government, Pierre Alain Schnegg also shares this opinion.
The next step in this major reorganization of the administration of the Bernese Jura concerns the work in the former factory in Tavannes, which will begin next year, and which will ultimately also contain the justice and police. Its opening is scheduled for 2028.
Célia Bertholet/ash
Related News :