The audit of the accounts and management of the Territorial Community of Saint-Martin, opened on October 25, 2023, highlighted several major issues affecting the governance and financial stability of the community.
This audit focused on the financial situation, internal management and the policy to combat Sargassum seaweed pollution.
After the escape of the interim report in September 2024, which had already caused a lot of ink to flow, the 76-page final report of the territorial chamber of accounts (CTC) on the management of the Collectivity of Saint-Martin between 2019 and 2023 was released last Monday.
“An alarming financial situation”
At the end of 2023, the financial situation of the Collectivité de Saint-Martin is worrying. After a period of stabilization, the uncontrolled increase in expenses, particularly personnel expenses (+€41m in a few years), weighs heavily on finances. This increase results from excessive recruitment and irregular benefits granted to agents. At the same time, management revenues fell by €19 million, exacerbating the budgetary imbalance.
In this context, the Collectivité has decided to embark on the takeover of Air Antilles, an initiative that carries considerable financial risks. With an investment of €13,2 million and full coverage of operating costs, the Collectivité assumes alone the financial risks of an airline whose profitability remains uncertain.
“Investments at a standstill”
Despite the crying need for infrastructure post-Irma, the Community is struggling to carry out its investment projects. Only €52,7 million has been invested out of the €230 million initially planned between 2019 and 2023. Projections for 2026 reach €375 million, but the internal capacities management only allows a rate of achievement of €20 million per yearThis situation is explained by a lack of expertise in project management and insufficient project planning.
The fight against sargassum: a fragile policy
Saint-Martin took charge of the fight against sargassum seaweed, but this policy suffers from numerous dysfunctions: lack of anticipation in the awarding of contracts, poor definition of needs and insufficient monitoring of services. Nevertheless, progress was made in 2023 with better organization of the collection and transport of sargassum, at a cost of €2,5 million.
An explosion in operating costs
Personnel expenses have increased by 60% between 2022 and 2024, reaching €70 million. This increase permanently compromises the financial management of the Community, whose budgetary rigidity ratio has increased from 31% to more than 50% between 2021 and 2023. In addition, expenses related to the provision of services have tripled since 2019, and operating subsidies have increased by 64%.
According to the report, the Collectivité de Saint-Martin allegedly engaged in irregular recruitment by retroactively creating 134 non-permanent jobs to regularize employees holding permanent positions. This circumvention of the rules made it possible to avoid legality control. Furthermore, at least six employees with family ties to the president and vice-president were recruited between June 2022 and March 2023. The CTC emphasizes that these "recruitment acts are thus likely to be illegal and expose the Collectivité to possible conflicts of interest."
“A worrying debt and a plummeting cash flow”
The community's self-financing capacity has collapsed: it has gone from 40,5 M€ in 2021 to -€21,6m in 2023. The lack of management resources to cover current needs generates a financing requirement of €70 million in 2023. In addition, cash flow has shrunk from €68 million in 2021 to €40 million in 2023, which jeopardizes the debt repayment capacity, although it is mainly held by public institutions.
Conclusion of the CTC report
Faced with these challenges, the Collectivité de Saint-Martin finds itself in a financial and organizational impasse. The uncontrolled increase in costs, delayed investments and risky commitments, such as that of Air Antilles, compromise its ability to ensure its development and to meet the needs of the population. “Measures urgent recovery are necessary” to restore healthy and sustainable management.
2025 preliminary budget
On March 26, the territorial council voted on the 2025 preliminary budget of €280.129.815, pleading among other things for a reduction in personnel costs, the limitation of the use of external service providers and reduction of overtime.
On September 26, 2024, following the leak of the CTC's interim report, the President of the Collectivité Louis Mussington declared: "When the court has officially published the final report, I will be quite willing to express myself on the substance, comment on the analyses and recommendations of the CTC and argue our political choices ". To be continued…
Source: Faxinfo https://faxinfo.fr/en/finances-de-saint-martin-les-conclusions-du-rapport-de-la-ctc/
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