The days follow one another and are alike between the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes and the azure local authorities, with a new quarrel of press releases concerning the exclusion of the Metropolis municipalities from the public calamity aid scheme.
If the title is eloquent in itself, we still have to wonder when the State will be blamed for the bad weather that prevents tourists from strolling along the Promenade des Anglais.
The texts of the statements absolve anyone from giving a logical meaning to the contents of this new controversy. In fact, nothing is going well between the State representative and the mayor of Nice, who drags the president of the General Council into his opposition.
Today, it is this, but tomorrow it will be something else, while the question is simple: As there are apparently rules, why not apply them and respect them?
Otherwise, we fall into the classic example of wanting the bicycle but expecting others to pedal it…
With all this, what can the average citizen possibly understand?
Press Release from the Prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes:
As part of the scheme implemented to compensate for the damage suffered by local authorities following the bad weather in the Alpes-Maritimes department in January 2014, the Secretary-General of the Prefecture convened the finance committee on October 22, 2014. This committee is composed of representatives from the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Council, the Alpes-Maritimes General Council, the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis, the agglomeration communities, and the community of communes.
The aim was to assess the potential grants that could be allocated by the various co-funders to the local authorities that had submitted a compensation file.
Immediately after the aforementioned weather episode, the Minister of the Interior decided to implement the scheme planned for repairing uninsured damage caused by public disasters as part of the exceptional aid that could be granted to local authorities.
Thus, an interministerial mission was constituted to evaluate the damages that could be supported.
After compiling an inventory of eligible expenditures and meeting with the relevant officials and services, the mission submitted its report to the Prefect.
It considered that national solidarity should be strongly expressed for the most affected communities given their budgetary capacity.
It decided to consider both the scale of the expenditures to be incurred and the importance of the resources of each municipality.
The mission thus selected twelve municipalities and a municipal syndicate, excluding those for whom the cumulative amount of expenditures was less than 1% of their budget.
It should be noted that for the municipalities of the Metropolis, the expenditures induced by the weather events fall under the competencies that were transferred to it at its creation. The cumulative amount of these expenses, borne by the Metropolis as a result of this transfer of competencies, is less than 1% of its budget. The Metropolis also benefited from a larger operating allocation to account for this transfer of competencies.
The State’s objective, reflecting the principles that guided the interministerial mission’s work, is to invoke national solidarity in favor of the most affected communities. It is on the basis of this objective that the grants will be distributed.
Press Release from the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis
The Prefect convened this morning the representatives of the municipalities and communities affected by the heavy rains at the beginning of this year. This meeting aimed to determine the financial amounts allocated by the State.
While the bad weather from January 16 to 20, 2014, caused significant damage, particularly to road and sewer infrastructure, evaluated at over 14 million euros in more than 30 municipalities in the Metropolis, the State announced today that no aid will be provided for the benefit of the affected municipalities.
In this context, the delegation representing the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis decided to leave the meeting.
For Christian Estrosi: “Faced with this unjust decision, which is not based on any regulatory foundation, the State effectively excludes the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis and its member municipalities from national solidarity. At the very same moment when the State is encouraging the grouping of municipalities, of which the Metropolis represents the most advanced model, it is again pursuing its financial disengagement towards these communities in a contradictory move.”
Press Release from the General Council: The Government’s and Regional Council’s Unfulfilled Promises to the Affected Municipalities of the Department
“Following the severe weather that hit the Alpes-Maritimes department at the beginning of this year, I had immediately requested the recognition of a natural disaster status for the affected municipalities. Manuel Valls, then Minister of the Interior, had indicated to me that he would support my request.
The prefecture convened today all co-funders to determine the amounts that would be allocated to the towns affected by this weather. These had caused considerable damage throughout the department, assessed at over 37 million euros, of which 5 million was borne by the Alpes-Maritimes General Council on its own roads.
Although the Government had committed to fully exercising national solidarity, the State just announced that only a minority of the affected regions will be compensated. Of the more than 37 million euros of declared works in the department and despite the General Council’s aid already exceeding 5 million euros, only 1.3 million euros will be allocated by the State based on the dedicated interministerial mission’s recommendation. The Regional Council’s promises of assistance, reportedly between 2 to 3 million euros as publicly declared by its President who had even visited the eastern part of the Department, ultimately did not materialize. During this meeting, the Regional Council announced only 800,000 euros for the affected municipalities. I regret that once again, the Government and the Regional Council do not assume their responsibilities. This situation exemplifies yet another instance of the State’s financial disengagement from the disaster-struck local authorities. I solemnly urge the Prime Minister and the President of the Regional Council to fulfill their commitments by providing the announced help.”
