She is still in denial. In an eight-page review magazine, in glossy paper, currently distributed to residents, the mayor of Noyon, Sandrine Dauchelle explains all its efforts to “continue the recovery of the municipality’s accounts”. An untruth which claims to be based on the report of the regional chamber of accounts which the elected official has in her hands, but which she has not yet communicated. Or how to instill the idea, without proving anything, that the financial magistrates almost congratulated her for her good work…
But rather than quibbling over the content of a report that we do not know, the mayor having done everything to postpone its publication, let us instead ask ourselves what the services say about the city’s situation. We obtained a note, co-signed by the city’s department directors at the beginning of summer 2024. This note emanated in particular from Olivier Morel-Maroger (former cabinet director), Arnaud de Belenet (director of economic development, currently being laid off), Henry Lamur (former deputy general manager, dismissed), Philippe Adde (former financial director).
According to our information, the note was never sent to the mayor. But her co-signatories would be firmly convinced: one way or another, the mayor got her hands on it. And what she read didn’t please her. Here’s why:
The context
In this note, the authors begin by recalling why they decided to put their economic considerations in writing. “As early as the fall of 2023 (…) we expressed our concerns about the deterioration of the financial situation of the city of Noyon, noting the increasing volume of unpaid invoices and the lengthening of payment deadlines,” begin the directors. An alert ignored by the mayor: “At mid-year 2024, five months later, it is clear that the situation has deteriorated further, significantly, to the point that the community is no longer able to ‘honor its financial commitments’, they note. The assessment then drawn up by the heads of services is enough to frighten any taxpayer. The agents in fact identify “three major risks”:
- “Overspending and failure to achieve revenue targets”
- “The great difficulty, even the impossibility, of ensuring the functioning of the community, in the very short term, with regard to essential expenses, the volume of pending invoices, in comparison to what was voted on”
- “The continued deterioration of the financial situation”
Risks that directors then analyze methodically.
Financial risk
The city is spending too much, and its revenues will not be sufficient to cover the current budget. This is in summary what the directors of city services explain in this note. Readers of Oise Hebdo will not be surprised. At the center of this observation, obviously the famous loans and real estate sales that Mayor Sandrine Dauchelle said she could carry out in order to return a balanced budget at the end of the year.
“The forecast amount of loans, set at 1.8 million euros, seems very ambitious to us, as does that of the transfers, estimated at 2.2 million euros,” write, in black and white, the heads of service. They “imperatively” ask the mayor for a meeting at the start of the school year (in September) to discuss it.
Unpaid invoices of “5.5 to 6 million euros”
On the current budget, they warn: the 6.5 million allocated to expenses of a general nature “will in no way ensure the functioning of the community, it being specified that the expenses are in reality of the order of 7, 5 million euros. And this is how today, according to testimonies, agents are reduced to bringing their rolls of toilet paper into the departments, or how printers, running out of ink, no longer print…
The authors of the note take stock: “A repayment annuity close to 3 million euros” combined with “monthly expenses of around 600,000 euros per month”, equal to: “a continuous worsening of the section of operation of more than 2 million euros per year. And again, this “without even taking into account the considerable volume of overdue invoices”. A quantified volume a few lines below: “5.5 to 6 million euros, or almost a year of general expenses”, in mid-June.
Proposals to redress the situation
The directors’ note was intended to make Sandrine Dauchelle change course. Also, the majority of the note consists of formulating proposals to reduce spending.
In the short term, they first propose reducing general expenses and personnel costs by 2 million euros. Or mainly reduce the wage bill “by making choices in public policies, adapting them to the needs of the community and its financial capacities”. The directors reveal that the mayor herself had made a commitment, “to the financing committees”, i.e. pledges for organizations that could lend money to the city.
Also, they suggested:
- to reduce the volume of overtime
- reduce the number of demonstrations
- no longer replace retirements
- no longer replace contract workers
- reduce the use of seasonal workers
- reduce the city’s workforce by 247 full-time equivalents, to “220 maximum”
Spectacular measures, sometimes difficult, “but worthy of the situation,” comments a source.
Reorganize services to the population, train and redeploy agents
Specific concrete avenues are mentioned: “A communications-event service operating with 4 or 5 people rather than 7” or a reduction in the number of municipal police officers/roads agents are notably put on the table. The authors of the note propose training certain agents to redeploy them on new missions.
In terms of the operation of public services, faced with the emergency, the directors also had ideas. Like “bringing all extracurricular activities back to schools, allowing buildings to be closed and saving energy costs” or closing a gymnasium to generate savings. The closure of the Noyonnais Museum is also mentioned, as well as a repatriation of the theater conservatory to Le Chevalet, etc.
So much for the short-term, emergency measures, intended in particular to make it possible to pay the city’s suppliers. The directors write: “It is clear that suppliers, service providers and contractors are not able to wait additional months: if payment of invoices within 6 months is possible, we cannot go beyond that.” The problem is still not resolved today.
In the short and long term: focus on profitability
In the medium term, the services suggested to the mayor to favor profitable investments: “Resume as quickly as possible the program to renovate public lighting using LED lighting for various facilities, educational and cultural establishments,” they wrote. . Enough to achieve in particular “long-lasting savings of several hundred thousand euros per year”.
Finally, in the long term, they propose to pool sports and cultural facilities, and even to study DSPs (public service delegation) for some of them. All to achieve a saving “of the order of 3 million euros”.
Their conclusion: failing to follow this plan, the city risks “finding itself in a state of paralysis in the short term.
What did Sandrine Dauchelle do?
Faced with these recommendations, what was Sandrine Dauchelle’s reaction? “She considered this note from the directors as a plot directed against her,” underlines an internal source at the town hall. As a result, it decided to dismiss, sometimes under scabrous conditions, all or almost all of its authors. Justice should prove him wrong on at least the case of director Herni Lamur. The Arnaud de Belenet case is getting off to a bad start.
In conclusion, the directors suggested staff savings: Sandrine Dauchelle gave them to them, at least occasionally (recruitments are underway to replace them). But this is not exactly the effect that was expected.
