The penultimate municipal council of 2024 in Saint-Gilles took place on Tuesday, November 19, with the budgetary orientation report for the coming year on the agenda. A thorny subject as the finance bill provides 5 billion euros in savings for communities.
On Tuesday, November 19, Eddy Valadier led the penultimate municipal council of the year in Saint-Gilles. Time to establish an initial assessment for 2024, and to present the budgetary orientation report for the coming year. “Our debt will stand at 9 million 541,000 euros at the end of 2024, compared to 12 million 681,000 euros ten years ago. This means that, since our election in 2014, the city's debt will have decreased by 25%.“, he boasts. The mayor adds that the municipality has at the same time invested more than 80 million euros. “If in 2014 we had 43% of our debt classified at a sensitive level, in 2024, 100% of our debt is now classified at level 1A, which is the best. Even though in ten years, we will have lowered the tax rate of our fellow citizens three times.“
A negative impact of 360,000 euros
Eddy Valadier then returned to France's budgetary context, and its public debt which reached the historic level of 3,228 billion euros. To try to straighten out the public accounts, the finance bill (PLF) provides for a contribution from local authorities of 5 billion euros. If the PLF is voted on as is, Eddy Valadier warns that the negative impact for Saint-Gilles would be 360,000 euros in 2025. A significant sum that he detailed. “There would be a four-point increase in pension contributions for territorial civil servants which would add an additional expense of 170,000 euros. The text also provides for a reduction in the VAT compensation fund, with a negative impact of 130,000 euros for the municipality. Finally, it also plans to increase taxes on electricity, which would have an impact of 60,000 euros.“Added to this will be the freezing of overall operating grants for municipalities.
After presenting this context, Eddy Valadier proposed an operating budget of 16 million 883,120 euros, an increase of 3.38% compared to 2024.Our revenues will increase by 1.26% considering that we will continue to support the purchasing power of Saint-Gillois residents since we will not increase either the property tax rates or the rates for public services provided to the community. population.“The economic situation in France and the new finance bill worries opposition elected official Paul Gabriel who also underlined”the reduction of the green fund by 1.5 billion euros.” The municipal councilor questions: “Will this have an impact on our ongoing projects?” Eddy Valadier wants to be reassuring. “The PLF will have an impact on the year 2025 and the State is preparing to support us less. But our community has enough budget surplus for us to remain optimistic. The year 2025 will, despite everything, be among the last 10 years, the one during which the municipality will invest the most.”
Many projects
The mayor has in fact proposed to include 17 million euros for “continue the modernization of Saint-Gilles“, and presented the various projects planned for 2025. First of all, there is the continuation of certain works, such as the Jules Ferry school (1.5 million euros) whose construction should be completed at the end of the spring, the early childhood center (which will cost 7.5 million euros in 2025), or the renovation of the swimming pool (2.2 million euros) Eddy Valadier also wishes to undertake new operations.There is the repair of the quays of our river port for 500,000 euros, a budget of 600,000 euros for the 13,000 m2 urban park project, work on which will begin, we hope, in January or February, or even on section of the Via Rhôna along the canal which will be launched this winter with a contribution from the city to the tune of 800,000 euros”, he explains. “Finally, we must free up land to allow the Gard Departmental Council to build a college. We must rebuild our rugby stadium, our athletics equipment, and improve our archery range. We will commit 1 million euros from 2025 to launch the construction of this new equipment.”
The first Saint-Gilles councilor, however, agrees with Paul Gabriel's concern regarding the repercussions of the measures on the city's partners. “The impact amounts to 4.2 million euros for the Nîmes metropolitan area, the Department is looking for 30 or 40 million euros and the Region 150 million. This in fact adds to the fact that the State will support us less.” However, nothing is fixed for the moment. The finance bill was in fact rejected at first reading by the National Assembly and Gérard Larcher, the president of the Senate, announced this weekend that he wanted to reduce the budgetary effort requested from communities by going from 5 to 2 billion euros.
