“Commitment made, commitment kept. The Côte-d’Or has a budget! »

President François Sauvadet had warned (our weekly of December 5). “Commitment made, commitment kept. The Côte-d’Or has a budget! €676 million for the benefit of Côte-d'Oriens,” he announced after two days of session at the Departmental Council in Dijon.

This 2025 budget is marked by a reduction of €6 million in operating expenses compared to that of 2024, in an unstable political and budgetary context where communities are called upon to make up the State deficit. “We voted for a responsible budget because the Côte-d’Oriens expect us to take our responsibilities. The government, in its previous copy of the finance bill, provided for a contribution from communities of €5 billion to make up the state deficit. It is in this context that we built our own budget. Whatever the effort that will be required of us, we are witnessing an explosion in social spending (+ €70 million in two years). These expenses are measures that were imposed on us by the State without the slightest compensation. I have asked the Government on several occasions to stop loading the boat. We have lost €37 million in transfer tax revenue in five years. The shock is brutal and the scissors effect is undeniable,” explained François Sauvadet.

The adoption of the budget was made possible with the €100 million debt reduction policy carried out by the Departmental Council over recent years. “Our net margin would today be in deficit of €4 million, which means that we would be unable to present a balanced budget,” he recalled.

To keep its commitment, a political choice was necessary. A savings plan of €10.5 million is therefore planned based on a more efficient reorganization of services, the restructuring of the real estate portfolio, savings linked to energy investment, internal efforts and control of expenditure. . “If we want to continue to maintain our roads, if we want to continue to invest in our colleges, if we want to maintain an efficient rescue and fire service, we must control our expenses and check the usefulness of each euro, including in the social sphere” explained the president.

The Côte-d'Or social pact aims to “individualize the social response to deal with the rise in precariousness, issues relating to child protection and the aging of the population”.

The stated objective is also to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities. “Control social spending, not to do less, but to do better and closer to the Côte-d’Oriens. We will be there for solidarity! »insisted François Sauvadet. Thus, 364.9 million euros will be devoted to “human solidarity”; that is to say for individual solidarity allowances, the elderly, people with disabilities, child protection, social action, return to employment and civil security.

In terms of investments? “We are maintaining a high level in 2025 with €96 million. This is important to continue projects already underway and not give up on future investments. If we do not want to suffer, we must prepare for profound changes. We are the community of territorial planning, of the balance between town and countryside,” he reaffirmed with conviction. Note €18.5 million for the maintenance of colleges, 7.4 million for the safety of the departmental road network and 20 million to support municipalities and intercommunities.

Vice-president Martine Eap-Dupin (canton of Semur-en-Auxois) was pleased to have “a responsible budget which takes into account all solidarity”. For Vice-President François-Xavier Dugourd (canton of Dijon 1), the Department has set “a course, a direction and given confidence”. In the same spirit, all the elected officials of the Côte-d'Or majority Passionately validated this budget.

The opposition group Côte-d'Or Terres d'avenir voted against, with two abstentions. “We have demonstrated our ability to take responsibility. We expressed our differences of views and our orientations that we would have liked to put in this budget” explained Christophe Avena (canton of Dijon 5), in reference to the “alternative budget” proposed by his group. “The budget presented is both rather speculative and even minimalist. There is no breathing space to protect the most vulnerable and to try to anticipate economic and environmental crises. There are levers to invest effectively and achieve sustainable savings,” he commented. “Everything is not perfect” added Hamid El Hassouni (canton of Dijon 3) but “appeasement is the only way out”; he therefore abstained. Just like Pierre Poillot (canton of Arnay-le-Duc) on the grounds that we must “try to protect the essential” and in a “desire for consensus”.

To summarize, François Sauvadet highlighted “a budget of responsibility towards the Côte-d'Oriens, a budget of commitment and a budget to preserve our collective future”.