Samuel D'Orazio invited his alderman Benoît Langendries (RC) to reveal an unpleasant surprise, while keeping other elements still secret. “There are things that we discover that do not allow us to announce a budget in 15 dayscontinued Benoît Langendries, Alderman for Sports in particular. I received an email from the SPW two days ago concerning the subsidy granted by Minister Dolimont (MR) in 2023, in the amount of €393,000, for the construction of a bowling alley with 12 indoor tracks, intended for club Kiki Tubizien, who has been waiting for 10 to 15 years. An extension of the six-month deadline could be granted on request. The former Sports alderman had 12 months to extend this deadline but did not do so.” As a result, the file is void. The entire procedure must be restarted, starting from scratch. The subsidy is lost. “We would therefore have to include €600,000 to €800,000 in equity for this project in our budget.”
Tense debates
If the majority raised their voice, it is because the debates, especially with the members of 1480 En Mieux (opposition), were already tense for this first real session of the legislature.
The future Tubize college will not have fewer aldermen: “Already a broken promise”
Séverine De Baets (PTB, opposition) recalled that the circular recommends increasing the additional centimes from 2,900 to 2,600. “We have the firm intention of reducing taxesrepeated Samuel D’Orazio. This is our priority, but if we do it today, the deficit increases by a million euros and it will not pass to the CRAC (Editor's note: the Regional Assistance Center for Municipalities) . We are forced to make economies of scale in order to then reduce taxes. The old majority drew from the reserve fund. The financial director told us that the City was using its savings book to finance itself, which was only sustainable for a year and a half at most.”
Mourad Abdelali (1480 En Mieux) said he was surprised, “because as a diligent municipal councilor, you had access to all the budgets and therefore were aware of the situation. Oh no, you were only present at 40% of the sessions…”
Samuel D'Orazio replied that the former alderman “was not there in spirit, too undermined by internal conflicts. We have only been there for 15 days. You attack the mayor personally because the majority agreement did not suit you. That a guy who was present for six years in the majority blames us for the state of finances, it's a shame. I confirmed that we intend to reduce taxes, without specifying that it would be December 3, 2024.
Alderman Jean-Marc Zocastello added that there was uncertainty about the funding that will be granted by other levels of power.
Councilor Séverine Benaets indicated that she was uncomfortable with the aggressive tone used by the mayor. “You are right, the PTB irritates measserted Samuel D’Orazio. And you’ve already attacked me in the hallways.”
