If goodwill is to be appreciated: “I wanted, through the presentation of the City of Nice’s budget orientations for the year 2014, to once again be transparent with the people of Nice,” said the outgoing mayor and candidate for re-election, Christian Estrosi, but the outcome did not meet expectations.
Instead of understanding the City’s financial strategy for its likely future mandate, there was a long and monotonous debate between the mayor (and his deputies) and members of various opposition factions, featuring as a bonus the excessive patriotic fervor of the first deputy and striking criticisms from others characterized by their disorder.
As for the financial strategy, given the sensitive issue of debt, who truly understood it? General commitments that signal a lack of vision do not make a strategy. However, what we did understand is that we should not expect prosperous years in the near future.
Of course, there is the promise not to increase local tax rates for 2014*, the sixth consecutive time, as Mr. Mayor repeats (for the following years, we shall see…), but we are indeed in an election campaign, and have you ever seen a candidate win by promising a tax increase?
Naturally, there will be the maintenance of funding levels for the associative sector, amounting to nearly 59 million €. Again, would it be imaginable to alienate a significant number of voters and potential advocates three months before the crucial election by not giving them a clear signal to ensure electoral loyalty?
But for the rest… We were treated to fine words: Local investment policy (Yes, but of 50/60 million per year, a significant decrease compared to previous years), a savings plan on operating expenses (Through what actions, given that most expenses are due to salaries and charges?), and debt control that could be seen as an oxymoron, stating that there will be no significant debt reduction and that financial burdens will continue to weigh.
In conclusion, we can only quote the words of the Institut Montaigne in its much-cited report these days: “Nice will only be able to rely on strict expenditure control or an increase in debt to finance new investments, unless a rise in local taxes is decided.”
For the sake of elegance, one might say that the time has come to consolidate achievements.
In plain terms, get ready to tighten your belts!
