Rapports de séance

Publié le 19.12.2024 à 11:17

Rapport de séance du 24 septembre 2024

Meeting of the Leudelange Municipal Council held on 24 September 2024

Setting the property tax and the business tax for 2025

1. Approval of the agenda
Approval

2. Communications from the College of the Mayor and Aldermen

4. Bowent cycle path
Approval of the sale agreement for the parcel of land No. 187/7992

5. Applications for housing construction
a) Project 71, Rue de la Gare
b) Project 62 and 64, Rue de Luxembourg

6. Sale agreement for parcel of forest land No. 1506/1482

7. Flood protection installations
Approval of agreements
a) Agreement for parcel of land at Kierchefong
b) Agreement for parcel of land at Mikos
c) Agreement for parcel of land at Schummer
d) Agreement for parcel of land at Schummer-Biever

8. Sale agreement for parcel of land No. 1101/7504
Approval

9. Contract for terracing work
Approval

10. Municipal associations
a) SICA, revocation of the declaration of 8 February 2024
b) STEP, membership decision
c) SYCOSAL, membership decision
d) Consultation on an agreement with STEP

11. Day Care Centre, LASEP agreement
Approval

12. Appendix to the Municipal Intercultural Pact of 27 March 2024
Approval

13. Request bus agreement Leudelange and Reckingen/Mess
Approval

14. Appointment of two new members of the School Committee

15. Setting the municipal business tax for the year 2025
Approval

16. Setting the municipal property tax for the year 2025
Approval

17. Creation of a budget item
Decision: budget item for VAT expenditure for drinking water

18. Creation of a budget item
Decision: budget item for expenditure on rental expenses, land leases as part of flood protection measures

19. Political leave
New Law on political leave, distribution of additional hours

20. Approval of regulations
a) Internal regulation for “Municipal Officers” in the municipal administration of Leudelange
b) Internal regulation for employees of the administration's “Management Department”

21. Correspondence, questions to the College of the Mayor and Aldermen

22. Municipal employee with intellectual tasks, holder of a master’s degree/diploma

Setting the salary

23 . List of applications for a right of pre-emption
a) Discussion (in closed session)
b) Decision (in public session)

Present:
Lou Linster (Mayor), Vanessa Demoling-Baldassarri (Alderman), Jean Pierre Roemen (Alderman)
Patrick Calmus, Denise Conrardy-Copette, Nathalie Entringer, Marcel Jakobs, Sandrine Pompidou
Councillor Philippe Wilmes takes part in the meeting from item 21
Marc Thill (Municipal Secretary)

1. Approval of the agenda
Approval
At the start of the meeting, Mayor Lou Linster introduces Municipal Councillors to Mr Eric Schmit, who took up his duties as “Municipal Officer” for the Municipality of Leudelange on 1 September. His remit includes monitoring compliance with parking regulations, drafting road traffic regulations and implementing traffic calming measures, as well as duties which were part of the former Municipal Warden’s role before the new legislation abolished it.

Item 10 on the agenda is supplemented by a sub-item d) “Consultation on an agreement with STEP”.

The amended agenda is unanimously approved.

2. Communications from the College of the Mayor and Aldermen
Lou Linster announces that the upper part of the school playground has been ready for use since 16 September. In the lower part, work is still under way, particularly on the retention basin. Exterior work is continuing in front of the school, while carpentry work is being carried out in the building itself. The school year is due to start at the end of October, with a move scheduled for the All Saints' holiday. There are still some leaks to be repaired in the underground car park, so it is not yet possible to predict when it will be ready for use.

Construction of the recycling park will begin at the end of October, as soon as the repair work on the Rue Pëssendall is completed.
In conclusion, the Mayor mentions the citizens' workshop as part of the Pact for Greater Integration, as well as the Remembrance Day celebrations which will take place on the morning of 13 October. On the same day, at 12.00 noon, an event bus will travel to “Veiner Nëssmoort”. Lou Linster points out that this year, the timetable has been specially adjusted to enable those interested to take part in both events.

3. Approval of the contracts of architects and engineers – Redevelopment of Leudelange town centre
a) STDM, architect contract, phase III
b) STDM, urban planners contract CENTRE-10-SDAP-NQ Leudelange, phase III
c) BETIC, consulting engineer contract, phase III, technical engineering
d) NEY + PARTNERS, consulting engineer contract, structure and exterior landscaping
As at the previous meeting, the College of the Mayor and Aldermen submits to Councillors the contracts concluded following the invitation to tender for the redevelopment of the town centre (phase III).

The contracts are unanimously approved.

4. Bowent cycle path
Approval of the sale agreement for parcel of land No. 187/7992

The Municipality is planning to purchase a portion of a parcel of land (11 square metres) at a location known as “Gruefwiss”, which is required for the Bowent cycle path.

All the Councillors approve the sale agreement.

5. Applications for housing construction
a) Project 71, Rue de la Gare
b) Project 62 et 64, Rue de Luxembourg
For the first housing project, one parcel is divided into three lots, giving a total of four lots by combining an existing plot. As municipal architect Tiffany Weber explains, this will allow the construction of two single-family homes in addition to the existing one. The rear part is not suitable for building, but can be used by the owner for other purposes.

In the second project, two parcels are being grouped together to build a residential complex. The existing house is to be demolished.

Both applications are unanimously approved.

6.Sale agreement for parcel of land No. 1506/1482

The local authority is buying a 35-acre parcel of land bordering the municipal forest at a price of € 500 per are. Mayor Linster explains that, as a municipal authority, the aim is to acquire woodland wherever and whenever possible. Although the price per acre is not cheap in this case, purchase prices in this type of transaction are always determined by the quality of the woodland on the site in question.

All the Councillors approve the preliminary sale agreement.

7.Flood protection installation

Approval of the agreements

a) Agreement for the parcel of land at Kierchefong

b) Agreement for the parcel of land at Mikos

c) Agreement for the parcel of land at Schummer

d) Agreement for the parcel of land at Schummer-Biever

According to the Mayor, the municipal authority's management has been working for a long time to control the flooding problems in “Schléiwenhaff” by installing protection facilities. Negotiations have been held with landowners to this end, and several agreements relating to this subject have already been signed and returned. Further agreements will be presented and voted on at forthcoming Municipal Council meetings. The agreements are concluded for a period of ten years, then tacitly renewed for a further year. In addition to the overall plan, there is a plan for each specific agreement. The Mayor gives his assurance that the protective measures will not adversely affect farming and is convinced that they will effectively improve flood protection. He expressly thanks the landowners who have already signed an agreement.

All the agreements are unanimously approved by the Councillors.

8. Sale agreement for the parcel of land No. 1101/7504

Approval

In this case too, part of a parcel of land is purchased for the Shared Space project. The price is approximately € 106,000 per are. The surface area of the plot purchased is approximately 7.5 ares, although the exact measurement of the area by a surveyor is still pending. The minimum purchase price for the plot is € 800,000.

The provisional sale agreement is unanimously approved.

9.Contract for terracing work

Approval
This contract has already been submitted to the Municipal Council at a previous meeting, and then sent to the Ministry of the Interior for approval, although this approval is not compulsory, explains Mayor Linster. The Ministry rejected the contract on the grounds that the work had not been put out to tender. However, according to the Mayor, the Municipality does not share this view: the annual costs estimated by Hary Marble Works are well below the threshold above which a tendering procedure is required.

The contract is approved by all the Councillors.

10. Municipal associations
a) SICA, revocation of the declaration of 8 February 2024
b) STEP, decision on membership
c) SYCOSAL, decision on membership
d) Consultation on an agreement with STEP
Due to the failure of the Leudelange waste centre to meet compliance standards, the Municipal Council had unanimously decided to join the SICA waste association. A new, small waste centre will be set up in Leudelange, which will only handle a few types of waste. However, membership of the SICA will give access to a wide range of services, such as waste collection, composting, and so on. Membership for Leudelange would cost around € 4.2 million, plus an annual fee of around € 450,000.

Because of the high costs involved, the Municipal Council and the College of the Mayor and Aldermen have decided to revoke the declaration of membership of the SICA syndicate and prefer to join the STEP syndicate, of which the municipalities of Roeser, Bettembourg, Differdange, Kayl-Tetingen and Rümelingen are already members. The cost of membership is just € 120,000, which will go towards the electronic access card system which will enable Leudelange residents to use the STEP waste collection centre and the Leudelange satellite station.

As far as waste collection is concerned, the Municipality wishes to join the SYCOSAL municipal association, which does not manage this service directly, but organises joint invitations to tender. Leudelange currently uses the services of Lamesch for this service. The Mayor points out that membership of SYCOSAL should make it possible, from 1 April next year, to obtain a much more advantageous price from the winner of the call for tenders, compared with the current situation.

At STEP, it is possible to dispose of a total of 70 different types of waste, whereas at Leudelange only ten are currently treated.

Councillor Patrick Calmus expresses concerns about the transmission of Leudelange residents' addresses to STEP. Mr Calmus points out that this involves personal data. Mayor Lou Linster assures us that this will be done in compliance with the laws in force on the protection of personal data. What is more, STEP is not a commercial enterprise, but an inter-municipal association.

Marc Thill, the Municipal Secretary, points out that the SIGI municipal association also has this data.

The members of the Municipal Council vote unanimously in favour of revocation of the declaration of membership of SICA, in favour of membership of STEP, in favour of membership of SYCOSAL and in favour of the contract with STEP for the transmission of Leudelange residents' data required for programming STEP's card system.

11. Day Care Centre, LASEP agreement
Approval
Due to the growing number of children enrolled in LASEP sports classes, explains Alderman Vanessa Demoling-Baldassarri, the number of classes has been increased. This means that additional instructors are required. The proposed agreement provides for Day Care Centre employees to take on this role as part of their working hours. Currently, around 40 children are enrolled in the classes, which can also be organised during the lunch break.

Councillor Patrick Calmus asks whether the Day Care Centre staff have received the appropriate training to be able to run the classes. Alderman Demoling-Baldassarri confirms this.

12. Appendix to the Municipal Intercultural Integration Pact of 27 March 2024
Approval
The Appendix to the Pact signed on 27 March concerns the duration of the agreement, which was initially due to end on 31 December 2024, but has now been extended to 31 March 2030. It also specifies that State aid will be applied for, says Alderman Demoling-Baldassarri: the State is granting a maximum of € 30,000 to hire a coordinator and is also making € 1,000 available for expenses related to the Municipal Pact. In addition, the Municipality will receive € 5 per annum for each citizen of Leudelange (or each employee of Leudelange) who signs the pact. Signing is accompanied by a commitment to take part in training courses and is done via the myguichet.lu website.

All the Councillors approve the appendix.

13. Request bus agreement for Leudelange and Reckingen/Mess
Approval
According to Mayor Lou Linster, the request bus service, introduced in October 2023, is by no means saturated, with a maximum of 80 single journeys per month, while the fixed costs amount to around € 100,000 (excluding VAT) per annum, to be borne by the Municipality. Remedial action is imperative, which is why discussions have begun with the Municipality of Reckingen/Mess, which has a population roughly equivalent to that of Leudelange, to agree cooperation on the request bus service. The plan is for Leudelange to join Reckingen's existing contract, resulting in cost savings of around 30%. The new Reckingen/Leudelange request bus service will serve the same destinations as before, namely Bettembourg, City Concorde, Belle Étoile, Bartringen-Centre, Centre Hospitalier, Kirchberg Hospital and the Reha Center (the latter two only from 09.30 to 16.00), while adding new destinations such as Reckingen/Mess, Monnerich, Esch, Sanem, Dippach and Schifflingen-Gare. The service will also be available on Saturdays. Coupon books already distributed will remain valid.

At the end of his statement, the Mayor thanks Sales-Lentz, which has provided the service to date to the full satisfaction of the Municipality and its residents.

Councillor Patrick Calmus points out that the current system costs the Municipality more than € 120 per single journey, which is too expensive. The Mayor agrees with this assessment, pointing out that the number of users is too low to justify the public expenditure involved. This is why this solution was sought.

Councillor Sandrine Pompidou asks whether the costs would be shared equally between the municipalities of Reckingen and Leudelange. Lou Linster confirms that this is the case. Reckingen will receive the invoice and Leudelange will be invoiced for half the amount.

Councillor Jakobs asks whether there would only be one bus left. The Mayor confirms this, and that even larger municipalities such as Pétange manage to operate with just one bus.

Councillor Jakobs queries the duration of the agreement with Reckingen/Mess, asking whether it would be valid until the end of their current contract with the bus operator, and whether it would be renewed or renegotiated thereafter. The mayor confirms this information.

The agreement is unanimously approved.

14 Appointment of two new members of the School Committee
Tessy Loutsch and Yasmine André are appointed members of the School Committee with the agreement of all the Councillors.

15. Setting the business tax for the year 2025
Approval

The business tax rate for 2025 has been set at 225%, unchanged from the previous year.

According to Mayor Lou Linster, Leudelange's business tax rate is the lowest in the country. There are seven other municipalities with the same rate. Leudelange is a municipality which does not fight against businesses - on the contrary, it offers very advantageous conditions to businesses, something of which the Municipality is proud. By way of comparison, Bettemburg and Mamer apply a rate of 350%, which represents considerable sums. The Mayor invites Leudelange's entrepreneurs to take note of this.

16. Setting the property tax for the year 2025
Approval
The property tax for the year 2025 is set as follows:

Category	Rate 2024	Rate 2025
A	Agricultural land	250%
B1	Industrial and commercial buildings	360%
B2	Mixed-use buildings	300%
B3	Multiple-use buildings	200%
B4	Single family houses, leased houses	200%
B5	Non-built land, with the exception of land intended to be built on for residential purposes	300%
B6	Land intended to be built on for a non-residential purpose	400%

Mayor Linster's explanations show that the B1 category has been revised downwards on the basis of a new calculation of the amount of infrastructure maintenance costs in business parks, adapted to the new policy direction. The calculation was carried out by Schroeder & Associés.

According to the Mayor, the costs of using the water and sewerage network are excluded from the calculation, as they must be covered by the price of water. The price of water will be increased in future, in line with the “polluter pays” principle, as required by law. From now on, income from water and sewerage charges will no longer be deducted from the total amount calculated by Schroeder & Associés, unlike in previous years.

In addition, the new government has introduced legislation to reform the contributions made by municipalities to the Employment Fund: in future, each municipality will only have to pay 2 per cent of the total amount of business taxes generated within its territory. After that, Leudelange will have to contribute less to the fund than it does at present. The reform was recently introduced and should come into force in 2025 at the latest.

This means that the Municipality of Leudelange will no longer have to compensate for the approximately € 304,000 which was added to the amount determined last year by Schroeder & Associés for the year 2025. According to the Mayor, this was a political decision taken on the basis of information of which the Municipality was not previously aware, as the new government was not yet in place. The € 304,000 is the amount which was collected in the B1 category in 2021, i.e. before the increase in the B1 property tax rate, and which was generally used to finance the expenses of the municipal administration.

The Mayor announces that, in future, owners of category B1 properties will be exempt from contributing to the overheads of the municipal authority, not because its administration does not affect businesses, but because they have to bear the high costs of the municipal authority's administration. The Municipality will take sole responsibility for the infrastructure of business parks. This is a political compromise solution which seems fair to community leaders.

Rates in all other categories would be increased, as they had not been raised for many years and were low compared with the rest of the country.

Councillor Patrick Calmus is concerned that, with the increase in tax category B4 (single-family homes, leased houses), more and more costs would be passed on to residents. Mayor Linster retorts that the increase for a single-family home is around € 30, which is bearable. He points to the spectacular rise in property prices in the years leading up to the current crisis. The Municipality's Finance Committee, Mayor Linster adds, has also accepted the new determination.

The various categories are voted on individually. Councillor Patrick Calmus abstains on the new property tax rate for category B4. The rates for all the other categories are accepted by all the municipalities.

17. Creation of a budget item

Decision: budget item for VAT expenditure on drinking water

The new budget item for this expenditure is provisionally set at € 50,000.

The Mayor notes that the Municipality has already received a refund of € 306,000 in VAT for the underground car park. Such reimbursements will be requested wherever possible, including during the implementation of the “Shared Space” project.

The creation of the new budget item is unanimously approved.

18. Creation of a budget item

Decision: budget item for expenditure on the leasing of land as part of flood protection measures

The new budget item is initially set at € 250.

This new budget item also meets with the approval of all councils.

19. Political leave

New law on political leave, distribution of additional hours

As a result of an amendment to the Grand-Ducal Regulation on political leave, all Luxembourg municipalities are entitled to six additional hours of political leave. This corresponds to an increase from 9 to 15 hours per week. The Council of the Mayor and Aldermen proposes the following distribution of weekly political hours for Leudelange (including hours available to the Mayor or Aldermen without political hours): Mayor Lou Linster: 25 hours; Alderman Vanessa Demoling-Baldassarri: 13 hours; Alderman Jean-Pierre Roemen: 8 hours.

This distribution is approved by all councils.

20. Approval of regulations

a) Internal regulations for “Municipal Officers” of the Leudelange municipal administration

b) Internal regulations for employees of the “Management Department” of the Leudelange municipal administration

The rights and obligations of municipal staff are set out in both documents. The content covered includes, among other things, behaviour in municipal buildings, the handling of correspondence and e-mails (requests from citizens must be answered within one month, at least with an acknowledgement of receipt) and the handling of municipal vehicles.

Lou Linster adds that last week, the College of the Mayor and Aldermen organised an information session for the “Management Department” and “Municipal Officers” on the regulations, and that the remaining questions had been clarified.

Councillor Patrick Calmus wants to know who is responsible for monitoring compliance with the rules. The answer is that the Personnel Department and the College of the Mayor and Aldermen carry out this task.

The two regulations were unanimously approved.

21. Correspondence, questions to the College of the Mayor and Aldermen

Councillor Patrick Calmus asks when the unsightly palisade at the school would finally disappear. Mayor Lou Linster promises that the problem would be solved at the latest as part of the implementation of the Shared Space, which will begin in March 2026.

Councillor Nathalie Entringer suggests combining the inauguration of the new school with an open day to inform and involve newly arrived residents better. Such a day could possibly be organised on a regular basis in the future. Alderman Vanessa Demoling-Baldassarri welcomes the idea.

Marcel Jakobs would like to know whether elderly people who have an accident outside the home can rely on a municipal emergency call system. The remote alarm system already exists, Mayor Lou Linster replies, and a meeting with Hëllef Doheem is scheduled for October to discuss the possible use of the Emergency Watch system.

22. Municipal officer with intellectual tasks, holding a master's degree/diploma

Setting the salary (in closed session)

The Municipal Council votes in favour of setting the salary by eight votes (one abstention).

23. List of applications for right of pre-emption

a) Discussion (in closed session)

b) Decision (in public session)

No applications are submitted