The Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (Sdis) is financed by the municipalities, the public intermunicipal cooperation establishments having fire competence and by the Department. The latter's contribution is fixed, each year, by a deliberation of the departmental council, in view of the report on the evolution of the resources and the foreseeable costs of the service during the coming year.
Fluctuating participation
During the initial 2024 budget, the Department allocated a contribution of €9,500,000 for the operation of Sdis (including €5,480,192 from the proceeds of the special tax on insurance agreements), an increase of 10%. compared to that of 2023. The sharp increase was explained in particular by the salary measures imposed by the State, inflation and the increase in activity.
During its session on October 15, the Sdis board of directors adopted amending decision no. 2 for 2024, with an additional contribution from the Department of €819,514 to balance its budget. The Department's contribution is thus increased to €10,319,514, an increase of almost 20% compared to 2023. In this amending decision, operating expenses increase by €731,000. Among the main expenditure items reassessed, we find personnel costs (+ €656,000) in particular operational allowances for volunteer firefighters and general costs (+ €45,000) and more particularly fuel. These increases are justified by “an underestimated initial budget and operational activity up 5.1% on October 1 compared to the previous year”.
The Brioude departmental councilor and vice-president of Sdis 43, Sophie Courtine, believes that “the participation requested from the Department for 2024 is the fair and proportionate cost to ensure Altiligerians a satisfactory level of security. It testifies to the major shift undertaken by the Department, under the leadership of Marie-Agnès Petit since 2021, in the management of its Sdis to respond to the crucial issues for our department.
The elected official nevertheless wanted to complete her analysis with some figures: “It should already be remembered that the Department's participation is fluctuating. Since 2017, the community will have certainly increased its support by 1,854,000 euros, or approximately 230,000 euros in annual progress, while at the same time, the municipal bloc will also have increased its support by 1,450,000 and Condition of 1,200,000 euros. This fluctuating participation therefore puts the progression over the last two years into perspective, reminding us that Sdis is one of the most difficult public services to manage, as it is not very prescriptive about its expenditure.
Aware of the financial weight of the institution, Marie-Agnès Petit indicated “that it is urgent to review the financing of Civil Security and that we no longer want to hear about new standards, until we have not evaluated those that are in place today.”
