Despite disagreements, budget readjustment adopted

At the territorial council meeting on September 26, the average person probably didn't understand half of what was said. After the first item on the agenda was quickly disposed of, the elected representatives turned their attention to the revision of the Code des Contributions. For over an hour, they went from amendment to amendment to revise the wording of this document dedicated to the Collectivité's taxes and contributions. "We don't understand a thing," whispered some ladies in the audience. Without the amendments in front of their eyes, it is indeed complicated to follow. What bothers me is that these are really important dossiers, and we end up with a book of last-minute amendments that we deal with in twenty seconds", declares Rudi Laplace as he lifts the bundle of documents. Despite this remark, which was supported by several elected members, the examination continued until the final vote, which signalled the adoption of these amendments. Like the first item on the agenda, the third was not debated. The fourth item on the agenda was Amending Decision no. 1.

An emergency meeting demanded
From the start of the meeting, Bettina Cointre remained silent. But when Xavier Lédée finished introducing Amending Decision no. 1, the elected representative immediately took the floor. "This amending decision includes administrative items requested by the departments, but also more political decisions, which would have required discussion and a meeting of minds.This amending decision includes administrative items requested by the departments, but also more political decisions, which would have required discussion and a meeting around a table, as Marie-Angèle requested, instead of trying to hold us hostage," says the elected member of the Saint-Barth Action Équilibre group. In this Décision Modificative, which is supposed to readjust the budget voted at the beginning of the year, certain points, such as the payment for the Vitet work, are approved by Marie-Hélène Bernier's group, but others are not.ne Bernier's group, but others, such as the opening of a contract for the employment of a private security company, are considered political decisions. Bettina Cointre then asked the President of the Collectivité to convene an emergency territorial council to rule on the pressing decisions on which there was a consensus, and secondly, "to set up a commission of experts to examine the issues.Bettina Cointre then asked the President of the Collectivité to hold an emergency territorial council meeting to decide on the most pressing decisions on which there was consensus, and secondly, "to set up a general commission so that all the elected representatives can meet and discuss the various proposed modifications".

"You're trapping all the elected representatives".
"There has been a real lack of consultation, the political context has changed since the last elections, and this must be taken into account", agrees Romaric Magras. In this budget amendment, certain projects dear to the Saint-Barth d'Abord list resurface, such as the project to relocate the schools, build the canteen, or cover the shredding area in Public. You take up all these ideas, a bit like putting honey on the ground to attract bees," Romaric Magras schematizes. It's this technique that I regret, because you're trapping all the elected representatives. "The debate quickly crystallized around the question of hiring a private security firm. Having men in black prowling around my house doesn't reassure me," says elected official Dimitri Lédée. I don't see the point, why not the local police? "In the eyes of the Saint-Barth Action-Equilibre and Saint-Barth d'Abord groups, the sum of 125,000 euros initially, then around 500,000 euros a year for the opening of such a market, should be invested in rents to house territorial police officers whose positions are vacant. "The housing proposals that arrive on the Collectivité's desk are not legion," replies Xavier Lédée, who takes the opportunity to criticize Romaric Magras for not having accepted the last housing acquisition proposal examined by the territorial council (JSB 1527).

Saint-Barth D'abord votes in favor
"Do we have prefectoral authorization today?" asks Alexandra Questel. As a reminder, private security guards are not allowed to operate on public highways, unless an exceptional request is approved by the prefect. Xavier Lédée assures us that he has had discussions with the superiors of the forces of law and order, who have confirmed that the Collectivité can "award this type of contract". It would also be good to have the opinion of the forces of law and order, since they will be the first to be affected," adds Dimitri Lédée. The feedback I'm getting isn't exactly thrilling them. "For his part, Romaric Magras says he "won't hesitate" to call on the legal authorities to check that the contract is in order. Such alignment between the two opposition groups could suggest, if not an alliance, at least a joint political decision. "I'll be paying close attention to how you vote, because your vote is going to count," says Dimitri Lédée, recalling that the Saint-Barth d'Abord group voted against the budget in March. Before the vote, Bettina Cointre reiterated to the President of the Collectivité her request that the items that "do not pose any problems be passed as emergency items" and the others by the general commission. "Deadlines are running and there are bills to pay", Xavier Lédée is content to reply. Romaric Magras took the floor again, announcing that he was "taking responsibility for supporting this amending budget decision, in the interests of the people of Saint-Barthélemy".

Lack of consultation
Dimitri Lédée reacted to this statement. "We're trying to make the population believe that if we don't vote this evening, nothing is possible", he insists. "You're trying to explain to the population that as soon as it's not what you want and only what you want, you want to block things," asserts president Xavier Lédée. A diatribe ensued between the President of the Collectivité and Dimitri Lédée, during which Xavier Lédée accused the Saint-Barth Action Equilibre list of "scheming behind his back", punctuated by Dimitri Lédée's "It's not true". The territorial councillor then denounced a lack of consultation on the part of the President of the Collectivité. "I can confirm that I'm not going to take 19 elected representatives by the hand every time there's a line or a question, and then have to decide," says Xavier Lédée. "You have virtually no choice, you no longer have a majority," chokes Dimitri Lédée, before describing this term of office as a "calvary".

The budget adopted
Despite Marie-Hélène Bernier's absence, her running mates are giving the president of the Collectivité no respite. Pascale Minarro-Baudoin returned for the umpteenth time to the question of security, in an attempt to obtain clarification: "Which committee and which elected representatives decided on this budget line? "Once again, it's nothing more than a proposal, which was made because no one else suggested it," says Xavier Lédée. A proposal that ends up being voted on by the territorial council, without even going through the committees, while being buried in a budget readjustment. With this sentence, Xavier Lédée vindicates his detractors who criticize him for his lack of consultation. However, this verbal jousting was not enough to change the minds of the Saint-Barth d'Abord list, which voted in favor of this Amending Decision, enabling it to be adopted. The Action-Equilibre group voted against, with the exception of David Blanchard, who abstained.