AfD wants to change the way fire departments are financed
The AfD parliamentary group wants the funding of volunteer fire departments in Thuringia to be completely restructured. The aim is to make the funds available more unbureaucratically and easier to access, said AfD MP Stefan Möller on Saturday when asked about his group's corresponding motions in parliament.
The Funke newspapers had reported on Saturday that the AfD wanted to remove more than 15 million euros from the 2024 draft budget and transfer it to the "municipal investment lump sum". The AfD's plans were met with criticism from the other parliamentary groups. Möller also justified his parliamentary group's proposal with the fact that a lot of funding would remain unused.
The budget funds are currently earmarked for investments in fire stations, vehicles, equipment, clothing and digitalization. If these funds were to be transferred to the investment lump sum, local authorities would no longer necessarily have to spend them on fire departments, but could use them for other purposes.
The AfD's proposals in parliament aim to alter the financial support for fire departments, specifically in Thuringia's volunteer units. Critics have voiced concerns over the AfD's plan to reallocate over 15 million euros from the 2024 budget, which is currently allocated for fire department investments.
Source: www.dpa.com
