The City Council meeting on April 14 allowed the city of Nice to present an ambitious 2023 budget. The municipality has chosen to invest in ensuring the security, protection of purchasing power, and health of the people of Nice.
“The budget for the city of Nice that we are presenting today is built around three major pillars: confidence in the future, the protection of quality of life and security, and the preservation of purchasing power,” begins Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice. The city has presented its operational and investment budget for 2023, amounting to 740 million euros. The portion intended for investments is particularly high. The mayor refers to it as an “exceptional investment,” with a 25% increase compared to the previous year’s budget.
Investment expenditures amount to 124.8 million euros and are distributed across eight sectors. The largest portion of the budget goes toward ensuring the proximity and security of the people of Nice, notably with the project for the future Police Headquarters costing 36.9 million euros. The second largest portion is dedicated to the greening of the city. Additionally, 12.5 million euros are earmarked for the maintenance of the city’s 151 schools.
“12 million will be allocated to culture and the maintenance of our heritage,” he adds. This investment is particularly intended for scheduled works such as those of the Notre-Dame du Port Church in Nice, which should be completed by the end of the year, as well as the Church of Sainte Marie Madeleine.
A substantial budget for associations
“Aware of the commitment of associations to the population, the City of Nice supports these local actors through subsidies.” Nearly 500 associations will be allocated more than 16.6 million euros, from a total budget of 24.6 million euros. This measure takes effect from this council meeting, for the year 2023.
What about the local taxes for the people of Nice?
The municipality assures that residents of Nice will not pay more in property taxes next year. This is an important point, part of their promises, in a policy aimed at protecting purchasing power, as the 2023 rates will be maintained. “All the people of Nice will also benefit from the complete removal of the residence tax starting this year,” proudly adds the head magistrate. In an inflationary context, the majority also emphasizes the preservation of daily costs, notably, symbolically, by not increasing the cost of school meals.
However, Valérie Delpech, municipal and metropolitan councilor from the Retrouver Nice group, claims otherwise. In a statement, she writes: “The amount of property tax will indeed be significantly impacted by the nearly 100€ increase per household in the Waste Collection Tax, decided by Christian Estrosi, president of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis, and voted on by his majority.”
