The start of the school year is definitely difficult for local elected officials. Singled out for their spending by the Attal government at the beginning of September, they are not moved by the idea of having to accept the 5 billion euro effort that Prime Minister Michel Barnier expects from them in 2025. At the same time, the Court of Accounts added its personal touch by suggesting, in a report published on October 2, to eliminate 100,000 territorial agents.
“We can clearly see the sequencesays Johan Theuret, deputy director general in charge of the resource center of Rennes Métropole and the city of Rennes, co-founder of the think tank Sens du service Pública. The reduction of the deficit, the search for savings and the question of staffing of local authorities enter the debate… This is not new. »
The Court of Auditors points out that “Personnel costs, which represent a quarter of community spending, are experiencing sustained growth,” and consider a “improvement” possible. Enforcing legal working hours everywhere and combating absenteeism would save money, say financial magistrates. Before presenting a massive proposal: return the territorial public service, which has 1.9 million agents, to the level of 2010. This would mean the reduction of 100,000 jobs, that is, 5.25% of the active population . Expected savings: 4.1 billion euros from 2030.
“Easy judgment in incompetence”
Why 2010? Because for ten years, between 2011 and 2021, explains the financial institution, there was no new transfer of skills from the State to the communities; However, this did not prevent the groups of municipalities – the inter-community groups, in full development – from employing 112,100 more agents (+48%) when the town councils only reduced their staff by 3%. However, the logic was precisely that, by entrusting missions to their inter-municipality, the municipalities would reduce their staff.
Behind the accounting logic, local elected officials perceive a new manifestation of ” contempt “ senior officials at Bercy, who would consider them wasteful and unable to keep up with their payroll. “ I’m not saying that efforts are not possible.continues Mr. Theuret. But, above all, it is an easy judgment for the incompetence of elected officials in managing human resources. »
The mayor (on the right) of Charleville-Mézières, Boris Ravignon, also declares himself ” convinced “ that what is expressed is distrust towards financiers. “Although it is above all ignorance: the magistrates of the Court of Auditors do not know how local authorities work”points out the man to whom the Minister of Association with the Territories, Catherine Vautrin, has just entrusted the mission of reducing the “administrative millefeuille.” In a report presented in May, Ravignon estimated the tangle of powers between the State and the communities at 7.5 billion euros.
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