At the Mende municipal council, the 2024 budget orientation debate was approved by the majority

La maison de santé pluridisciplinaire à Mende, un exemple de dynamisme pour la ville selon Laurent Suau. Midi Libre – Michel Pieyre

Before the final vote on the 2024 budget next April, the municipal council on Thursday March 7, 2024 debated the budgetary orientation of the municipality of Mende. With strong opposition against the financial plan presented by the team of Laurent Suau, mayor of the city.

The Budget Orientation Debate (DOB)  was presented by the municipal majority of Mende, with & quot;maintaining tax rates, continuing debt reduction, sustained investment aimed at the ecological transition." "Operating expenses dependent on inflationary pressures increased by 4.35% between 2022 and 2023, they will be stable in 2024 due to the fall in the cost of energy , the end of the acquisition of LED bulbs and despite the increases in staff costs (+4.5%)", specified Alain Combes, in charge of finances.

Current management expenses are budgeted with an increase of 11%, financial expenses, +9%. "The investments, made in particular in public lighting, now make it possible to maintain a tax rate of 29.97% of the municipal share , specified Alain Combes. A control of rates which translates into a gain of 4.83% since 2018 on the property tax of the Mendois (i.e. 600,000 € not collected from the Mendois since 2018)." 

A debt of 595 € per capita

A table (source decomptes-publics.fr) was presented to elected officials, showing the effectiveness of the municipality's accounts, classified from A to E, in comparison with a national average of cities of the same stratum. Personnel costs, investments, loans, evolution of debt, margins of maneuver thus receive an honorific A. The accounting result receives an E, reflecting a low capacity to finance investments without borrowing .

Then, the main budget was presented. Actual operating revenues of 14,180,000 € with deleveraging "less than 600 € per capita", notes the report (compared to 664 &euro in 2023). Actual operating expenses are planned to be up to   of 13,445,000 € (+2% compared to 2023). General expenses are expected to decrease (-8%), while personnel expenses are expected to increase (+4.5%). The capital of the remaining loans as of December 31, 2024 will be 7,781,900.85 €, i.e. a debt per capita of 595 €.

An opposition against the provisional budget 

At the end of the DOB's presentation, the opposition elected officials strongly criticized the provisional budget, starting with Emmanuelle Soulier:"You congratulate the reduction in property taxes over the past three years. Since 2021, the rate has remained stable but the base has been reassessed upwards, and in fact the Mendois have seen an increase in their property tax. Also regretting that operating revenues struggle to cover expenses and free up money for investment, "the planned investment expenses are limited and not very structuring. " Pointing out personnel costs that are too heavy "despite pooling".

Final blow from the chosen one: "Mende remains the sleeping beauty."  Same observation supported by jobs, for Fabienne Hierle. "De the budgetary bulge, launched Karim Abed. Laurent Suau responding on the fly: "We are one of the least taxed cities in Occitania (…) You can say what you want, the truth is there. If you lived in Tarbes, you would be scared."  Insisting on the fact that the municipality has returned 600,000 euros to the Mendois; local taxes. At the end, the budgetary orientation debate was approved, as were the annexed budgets, despite the opposition voting against.  < /p> I subscribe to read more