Lodévois and Larzac anticipates €600,000 in savings in 2025 and tightens the screw

Le président Requi entouré du DGSFabien Klingelschmidt et du vice-président aux finances David Bosc ALAIN MENDEZ

Enfance-jeunesse et culture sont les grands perdants du budget de rigueur voté jeudi soir en conseil communautaire, à Lodève.

“””Budgets were on the agenda this Thursday evening in Lodève at a sparse community council, which had to wait a little before starting due to a lack of quorum. In a context of tight public finances, with a lot of uncertainty, Lodévois Larzac still chose to vote for a main budget of €21 million (€16.4 million in operating and €4.6 million in investment), anticipating the loss of more than €400,000 linked to the consequences of the “ex-future” State finance law. Above all, it allowed President Jean-Luc Requi and his vice-president David Bosc to clarify the trade-offs mentioned 15 days earlier during the budget orientation debate.

Measures restrictive

“Given the state of public finances, there is no reason to hope for improvements. To wait would be to postpone the cost-cutting measures that we need to take from the beginning of 2025 to avoid further weakening the community, explains Jean-Luc Requi. There will be time in June to rectify during our supplementary budget when we have precise elements.”

A sparse assembly for the council, on the agenda which is nevertheless crucial for the future of the community. ALAIN MENDEZ

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“We need sufficient net savings to continue our multi-year investment plan and leave decent finances to our successors in 2026. This means more than €600,000 to find, also anticipating a 50% drop in Department subsidies. All services are affected by restrictive measures, adds David Bosc. In particular, two expensive ones, which will have to make major efforts.

“We will reorganize the operation of the Childhood-Youth service in compliance with supervision rates, for a saving of €220,000” details the president. Other very impacted sector, culture. “We will reduce the festival by one day and remove shows from the Resurgence season for a saving of €50,000. We will reduce the next exhibition and museum events for a gain of €80,000. The rest concerns many small things that will have to be given up.” Such as the removal of subsidies to associations outside the city's political and charitable sectors, the absence of the tourist office at trade fairs, the cleaning of the windows of the Bousquet space (which represents €8,000 per year)… Added to this is the postponement of maintenance work and unfunded projects such as the Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaquière leisure center or the development of the Baume Auriol in Navacelles.

8 municipalities did not vote for the compensation fund for Childhood-Youth

“We are anticipating revenue shortfalls by putting pressure on services, by weakening an entire social aspect” noted the mayor of Sorbs Éric Ollier, before regretting the cessation of subsidies to associations. “Can't we sell properties like La Prunarède or La Baume Auriol ?” asked the mayor of Saint-Félix-de-l’Héras Françoise Olivier, while Damien Rouquette for the Lodévois opposition denounced the lack of vision. “I wonder about the support of elected officials and municipalities for your policy and I wonder where we are going". Before discussing the compensation fund requested from the municipalities for the reassessment of the charges transferred to childhood and youth, presented a little earlier in the evening.

8 of the 27 municipalities concerned did not vote for it, representing a loss of 30,000 euros for the community of municipalities. “They will continue to benefit from our services. “I'm not going to close the leisure centers” recalled Jean-Luc Requi, somewhat fatalistically.

No tax increase and continued investment

“We can't make savings without making sacrifices,” continued Jean-Luc Requi, ruling out a tax increase. We had already made one during the mandate, I am not in favor of it in the current context and I think the assembly is not either.” And to insist on the fact that this budget will allow the CCLL to invest in the construction of a micro-crèche and the household waste building in Lodève, to acquire land for the future multimodal hub, to continue its housing policies, Gemapi (management of aquatic environments and flood protection), and to maintain the competition fund to help municipalities with their projects.

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