The 2022 Budget of Orleans Métropole adopted: "We tighten the bolts"

This important vote for the metropolis comes after the crisis at the end of last year within the community, which led to the resignation of the socialist Christophe Chaillou, put into the minority about the finances and the budget of Orleans Métropole.Serge Grouard, during his election as president, had insisted on "the heavy financial difficulties" of the metropolis and the degraded situation according to him.

38 elected officials (out of 89) do not vote the main budget 2022

Unsurprisingly, the debate, this Thursday, gave rise to a pass of arms between left -wing elected officials and the new majority at the controls of the metropolis.Out of 89 elected officials, 23 elected officials abstained (including the mayors of St-Jean-de-Braye, St-Jean-de-la-Ruelle, Bou...) and 15 abstained (the mayor PCF of Saran, the elected officials on the left of Orleans).Note that the elected LREM (and MP) Stéphanie Rist voted to, in unison with the majority of the right and the center at the head of the metropolis.

No tax increase in 2022

In detail, the 2022 primitive budget adopted this Thursday amounts to 511 million euros, against 567 million euros in 2021."We had two choices: either increase household taxes, and we refuse to save ourselves and give up certain investments," explains the president of Orleans Métropole who welcomed "the very important work provided in recent weeksTo peel line by line all budgetary positions and carry out very fine work.I had never seen such work in almost 25 years of engagement as a local elected official ".

Savings in operating expenses are therefore scheduled for this year (around 9.6 million euros).This concerns subsidies to high -level sport ("we return to the level of subsidies that each municipality paid before the transfer of skills to the metropolis in 2018, and we stop exceptional subsidies to clubs, a saving of 300,000 euros per year", indicates the vice-president in charge of finance Michel Martin).Endowments paid to certain structures, such as the Topos Urban Planning Agency, the Metropolitan Tourist Office, and certain subsidies in the economic world, are also reduced.Finally, without going into details, Serge Grouard indicates that he "asked the services to lower their budgets by a few percent".

The President of Orleans Métropole assures that "unlike the fears heard here and there, we do not touch the expenses of personnel and we obviously do not remove any position: the agents are the spearheads of the policies that we implement"

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Investments revised downwards

Investments were also revised, down this year: they will amount to 108.8 million euros in 2022 ("against 126 million euros planned" by the previous team)."We absolutely had to reverse the trend," explains Serge Grouard, "if nothing had been done, Orleans Métropole was going to have a billion euros in 2026 and negative savings from 2024: Now, the capacity of'Savings are our investment capacity of tomorrow! I assume this decision but beware, the investment remains higher than that of previous mandates ".

Because precisely, the multi-annual investment plan (until 2026) has been revealed: it will be 723 million euros for the main budget, in decrease of 260 million euros compared to what was planned.

Serge Grouard indicates "putting the package" on two priorities, the economic and energy transition (64 million euros, including 40 million to develop renewable energies) which is "a budget that we sanctuarize", as well as the expenses ofProximity for roads, public lighting (191 million euros planned for roads, infrastructure, cycle arrangements), not counting the investments already launched (the realization of the large Come't room, support for higher educationand research, and obviously public transport).

Certain investments are however abandoned or postponed: certainly, 36.7 million euros will be devoted to the repair of structuring roads, but for the DR220 North, the RD 960 in Saint-Jean-de-Braye, the avenue of Saint-SaintMesmin and the Faubourg bannier, things are returned to a "review clause" in 2023.

Serge Grouard: "Orleans is not privileged"

But it is the investment budget of 19 million euros to redevelop the emails (or large boulevards) in Orleans, in the PPI, which crystallized the debates and tensions.Serge Grouard explains that the project was revised downwards and that the redevelopment of the part of the emails located near the theater will not be carried out during this mandate (just like the parking project in this sector), proof according to the mayor LRof Orleans that "the city center is not privileged".

But on the left, several elected officials intervened to be surprised to discover this important budget line concerning the Orleans emails in the multi-annual investment plan (and denounce it).Vanessa Slimani, PS mayor of Saint-Jean-de-Braye and vice-president of Orleans Métropole, for example, regretted this choice and "invite the elected officials Orléana to go out of Orleans to go to Saint-Jean-de-BrayeAnd see how degraded the roads are degraded on the D960 ".The elected socialist has generally regretted that "the CFE (Land Contribution of Businesses, ex -professional tax, paid by companies) has not been questioned", that "important cuts have been made for municipal roads" and that someprojects, such as "the stopover" in Comaple, important on the economic and tourist level, were abandoned.Vanessa Slimani mocked Serge Grouard who "Environment and Ecological Transition" but makes choices "especially Orleans".

Maryvonne Autin, Communist mayor of Saran, denounced the drop in subsidies allocated to Saran Loiret Handball in this PPI, and launched: "The metropolis sees too much Grad, it must focus on projects that really do service to the inhabitantsdaily".

The socialist Christophe Chaillou, mayor of Saint-Jean-de-la-Ruelle, and ex president of Orleans Métropole, spoke to quip "of sacred numbers of actors" within the (new) majority: "The palm returns to Florent Montillot, I keep in memory the debate on the BMX track project at the Saint-Mesmin chapel "(project which finally benefits from the vote of a competition fund of one million euros, voted thisThursday, by Orleans Métropole), "he said he then discover this project, and explain that he would never be done.Today, he votes the budget which provides a competition background for this BMX position, I salute this capacity "to change foot" in two months ".

Serge Grouard, in conclusion regretted "the role play observed" this Thursday evening: "There was a very large consultation, we had broad exchanges during our meetings, we also joined the BMX track,The host field of Travelers after exchanges.We built this budget and this PPI in a spirit of concertation and participation, each with their expectations and their vision of things and we had arrived, I believe, to a consensus.And this evening, I see criticism, often constructive, but sometimes virulent and with even untruths through figures that are false ".

* The "mobility payment" collected from companies will however be enhanced, the rate going from 1.8 to 2% on July 1, 2022 ("as in all metropolises in France", assures Serge Grouard)