The indebtedness of the Communes

January 22, 2010

Here are some interesting statistics that were published in the Dauphine Liberé this week. They refer to the amount of money the Commune (translates as Council) owes divided by the number of people who pay taxes in the Commune.

I have selected some of the more popular Communes for comparison. I don’t suppose you should make a property purchase decision on the basis of these figures, they just give you an idea of who owes the most! I’ve no idea what happens should a Commune in France goes bust.

Les Gets looks to be on shaky ground, it is an “average” sized ski resort and owes a lot. I know that in the last few years they have built and underground car park, a reservoir to supply water to the town and they have upgraded their sewage system too.

On a similar subject the Dauphine Liberé ran a story on the amount of ski lift investment in the Haute Savoie over the last year.  Full story via the link below.

http://www.ledauphine.com/avec-six-nouveaux-apparei-@/index.jspz?article=249867&chaine=23

More property related stats from the following link.

http://www.budget.gouv.fr/

Commune Euros per Inhabitant
Les Gets 25,279
Chatel 10,698
Les Contamines-Montjoie 7,127
Morzine 6,806
Megeve 6,657
La Clusaz 6,490
Morillon 5,942
Chamonix 5,186
Le Grand-Bornand 5,076
Combloux 5,063
Samoens 4,700
Araches-la-Frasse 4,619
Manigod 3,663
Evian-les-Bains 3,603
St Jean de Sixt 3,581
Saint-Gervais-les-Bains 2,426
Montriond 1,926
Le Biot 1,755
Essert Romand 1,742
Les Houches 1,731
Sixt-Fer-a-Cheval 1,690
Passy 1,506
La Chapelle-d’Abondance 1,478
Annecy-le-Vieux 1,445
St Jean d’Aulps 1,311
Vallorcine 1,051
Taninges 847
Servoz 780
Annecy 483
La Baume 3
Average in France 890

Morzine Communal Projects

November 15, 2009

morzine

The “Bulletins Municipaux” has just been published in Morzine. This a the newsletter published by the Morzine Mairie 3 times a year. It has always been very informative and this issue is no exception.

I will summarise in a list the projects and stage of development they have reached.

  1. The Tourist Office square, worked restarted here at the beginning of the Autumn 2009, good progress has been made, there is plenty of nice smooth tarmac, open space and quality looking bits of rock disspersed around the area. The outdoor ice rink is scheduled to be complete before the winter and the “square” will certainly be functional by Christmas, there is more work to come however with a very advanced lighting system and work to the surrounding roads scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010.
  2. The work for the wood-burning heating network started in the summer of 2009. This environmentally friendly heating project uses local wood harvested in a sustainable way. This huge project includes 1.4km of heating conduit that snakes around the town providing heat for the Town Hall, Library, Vicarage, ANPE Offices, both the schools, judo and music rooms, the Palais des Sports and the swimming pool.
  3. New pool for Morzine. The plans for this project where but on display at the outdoor pool this summer. The work is due to commence in the Spring of 2010, pause for the the summer and then carry on in the Autumn, scheduled to be completed by the winter of 2011/12. All the existing pools will be retained, the existing changing rooms and restaurant will be removed and replaced with a 25m x 15m indoor pool, a spar, 3 saunas, 2 hammams, relaxation space and new restaurant.
  4. The new Pierre et Vacances apartment project at Avoriaz continues, we have the apartments for sale on our website. The apartment building works start in the Spring of 2010, the Aquariaz project starts in the Autumn of 2010, the second phase of apartment building is scheduled to start in 2011.
  5. The work towards the replacement for the Prodains cable car is due to start in the Spring of 2010 and due to be completed by the winter 2011/12. The cable car that has been proposed linking Morzine to Avoriaz is still in the feasibility study stage.
  6. The Morzine ski company reports that plenty of work has been carried out adding snow cannons and moving snow cannons around the pistes to deal with “gaps” in cover. Everyone will have seen the earth works carried out on the “Retour des Nants” AKA the “Green return piste”, included with this is 6 new snow canons therefore adding another snowsure route back to the foot of the Pleney side of Morzine. Also mentioned was a proposed to 6 seater chair lift to replace the acient Chamossiere chairlift. Work is due to start on this next year to be completed for next winter.

There is lots more information in the newsletter and it is produced in English and French. Click below for links:

Morzine Bulletins Municipaux in French

Morzine Council News in English