The Angers town council to the test of finance

Les questions financières dominent la rentrée du Conseil municipal. Economies, restructurations, politique de subventions aux associations et code de bonne conduite des élus sont dans le viseur. On entre "dans le dur".

The Angers mayor, Christophe Béchu, about six months after he took office, applied himself to demonstrate that the promises he made during the campaign, had been and will be implemented. Probably invisible for the inahabitants, the financial measures were nevertheless essential in Christophe Béchu's political platform.The audit of Angers resources and expenses led to savings. It is said that all the managers of town hall have been strongly recommanded to lower their expenditures by 2%.

After a first corrective budget has been passed, a second will be submitted in November which will lead to save more money. An important initiative, which could inspire others, consists in the merger of different economic and social structures in a single one, whose area will be the Angers Loire Métropole territory. Mr Béchu also announced that a conference gathering some 1,600 associations will take place in November. The mayor wants to get "common rules for all of them" in the gifts of allocations.

The urban planning of the new team will start to diverge with the projects of the previous town council. Two of them emerge : the new route of the seconc tramway line is under consideration and will be determined in accordance with the financial constraints of the city; the settlement of the Maine banks, it appears that the extent of the scheme will be focused on Angers down town, above all in the range included between Molière and Saint-Serge squares.

Mr Béchu also wants those financial limits taken in account by the town councillors. The mayor would like that their allowances be linked to their assiduousness. In the meantime, other issues, much less popular, are in the pipe : Angers would have to pay 3 millions euros after the withdrawal of the new congress centre project and a tough case with Véolia and Vinci companies is looming about the Biopole technical malfunctions. There is a lot of money at stake.