“We cannot accuse the Department of dishonesty”: elected officials Calueba and Blasco justify Sète's aid to Hérault firefighters

Les élus Véronique Calueba et Gabriel Blasco prennent la défense du Département de l’Hérault. Midi Libre – NICOLAS ZARROUK

La Ville de Sète demande des comptes sur sa participation par habitant en ce qui concerne l’aide annuelle attribuée au Service départemental d’incendie et de secours (Sdis) de l’Hérault. Les élus Véronique Calueba et Gabriel Blasco prennent la défense du Département.

At the last municipal council, the town hall of Sète was upset to note that it was the commune in the Department with the highest contribution rate per inhabitant for annual aid to the Sdis of Hérault (€86). “It is not the amount that is disputed, the town hall hammered home, it is the method of calculation. We wonder if this distribution is fair compared to the other communes of Hérault.” The share of Sète aid to the Sdis reached €4.9 million this year, when the operation of the Sète barracks is around €7.1 million.

“The mayor would have taken 20 years to realize that he pays this price ?”

These remarks did not please the duo of departmental elected officials, Véronique Calueba and Gabriel Blasco. “We are surprised by this timing. The rates at the Sdis have not changed since 2001. The mayor would have taken 20 years to realize that he pays this price ?”

For the two elected officials of the left, the City highlights this problem “at a time when the Department is in financial difficulty”. That being said, “the sum is significant”, they acknowledge. “But it is also for the Department. The contributions have allowed for significant investments. The Sète barracks are modern and of extremely high quality. In 2024, €1.1 million will be invested in the Sète barracks, with a fire-fighting ladder, an ambulance, a medical vehicle, a forest fire-fighting truck, etc. At the time of the Gardiole fire, we were very happy with these resources! It is also €830,000 in 2022 and €520,000 in 2023. The Department is not abandoning investments in the barracks.”

As for the method of calculation, the two elected officials specify that it was decided objectively in 2001. “We cannot accuse the Department of dishonesty. This is an equalization with a significant number of criteria: population, tax rate, port…”

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