The Communauté de Communes de la Haute Bigorre has come under scrutiny from regional financial auditors following a significant increase in its public sector payroll and staffing levels.
The findings were presented to delegates during a community council meeting on September 24, where auditors highlighted growth in local administrative rates and workforce expansion across the intercommunal authority.
Council President Jacques Brune explained that the audit by the Regional Chamber of Accounts of Occitanie formed part of a national initiative launched by the Cour des Comptes. The regional audit body examined 11 local authorities across the Occitanie region as part of the nationwide assessment.
Audit findings and municipal defense
While pointing out workforce growth, the regional audit report recognized that the authority had achieved an advanced level of shared services across its administrative departments.
Brune defended the spending trajectory, stating that the payroll calculations included external delegate organizations that recruit independently. He added that the audit figures failed to account for state subsidies provided for specific municipal roles.
These subsidized positions included jobs created under the national Petites Villes de Demain scheme and staffing dedicated to the local Espace de Vie Sociale program.
The Communauté de Communes de la Haute Bigorre is an intercommunal governance structure in the Hautes-Pyrénées department of southwestern France. In the French administrative system, a community of communes allows neighboring towns to pool financial resources and jointly manage public services such as waste management, economic development, and social initiatives.
The Petites Villes de Demain program is a French government initiative launched to help smaller municipalities revitalize town centres and strengthen local administrative capacity.
Opposition calls for internal review
Opposition council member Sébastien Lacrampe challenged the administration over its financial direction, arguing that the authority was over-delivering on public services at the expense of its future investment capacity.
Lacrampe suggested that the council conduct an internal audit service by service to evaluate actual staffing needs. He urged leadership to curb recruitment to stabilize or reduce overall payroll expenses.
Lacrampe specifically questioned the necessity of funding the Espace de Vie Sociale, arguing that local community associations could easily organize social activities such as board games and photo competitions instead of relying on municipal staff.
Brune responded that the Espace de Vie Sociale was not the primary driver of payroll growth and pointed out that the program was partially funded by the Caisse d'Allocations Familiales under a formal agreement.
The Caisse d'Allocations Familiales is France's national family allowance agency, which subsidizes local social initiatives and community centers across the country.
Audit process and next steps
Lacrampe remained unconvinced by the explanation, claiming that the local government routinely applied for every available state project, thereby overloading municipal services.
The preliminary draft of the audit report was initially presented to community delegates in the spring before the final document was delivered at the September 24 meeting.
The Regional Chamber of Accounts functions as an independent financial tribunal in France, auditing local public bodies to ensure fiscal transparency and effective financial management.
The community council formally took note of the audit report at the conclusion of the session.
The final audit report is scheduled to be presented to the municipal council of Bagnères-de-Bigorre during its meeting on Tuesday evening.
