The Bavarian Red Cross (BRK) is strengthening its leadership. At the state meeting in Schrobenhausen at the weekend, the delegates decided to provide the state office and the district associations with better financial resources. From 2024 onwards, the 73 Red Cross district associations will transfer around 1.5 million euros more to the association leadership – a total of more than nine million euros annually.
Association President Angelika Schorer was relieved about this decision, which the association leadership believed was overdue. The BRK has developed into a healthcare group with sales of 1.7 billion euros. Due to legal requirements, the state office was constantly given new tasks. The number of employees has increased from 60 to 84.5 since 2016. But the costs for this are not covered.
It was by no means certain in advance that the 365 delegates present would agree to the increase in the so-called association levy. The district associations are also struggling with higher costs and falling income. The Starnberg district association, for example, is in acute need. He cannot fully occupy his three nursing homes due to a lack of staff. This tears a hole in the budget. And now even more money for the association leadership? “It has to be affordable,” said one delegate before the meeting.
At the same time, there was a certain distrust of the office among some of the delegates after irregularities in the balance sheets were noticed there last year. These are long-ago booking processes relating to the integrated control centers operated by the state office – the operations centers that receive emergency calls made on the number 112.
Apparently there was some sloppiness when setting up these control centers in 2005: funding that the BRK would have been entitled to was not accessed. On the other hand, purchases were made that were not eligible for funding. The BRK is currently working through these processes. The BRK’s internal audit department examined them. However, some people in the association are dissatisfied with the way the processing is taking place.
The numerous changes at the top of the internal audit department caused irritation. The previous head Oliver Gäckle was released on October 24, 2022, and less than a month later his deputy was also released. The Vice President in charge afterward, the Green Party member of the state parliament Andreas Krahl, also resigned from office after a few days. When asked why, Krahl said on Saturday: A meaningful and structured audit of the integrated control center was not possible at the time he was in office. He was also dissatisfied with the events that led to the resignation of his predecessors.
Approval of the annual budget was hanging by a thread
In his speech, the chairman of the budget exclusion, Wolfgang Schuss, complained in general terms that the committee had been provided with important information that it needed to audit the annual financial statements too late. The willingness to submit documents upon request from the committee has also recently decreased. Therefore, six out of seven members abstained from voting on the annual financial statements. Only one agreed. The committee wanted this to be seen as a sign “that the approval was hanging by a thread,” said Schuss, according to participants.
Overall, the mood among the delegates was quite rebellious. Not all of the management’s suggestions were approved. For example, the proposal to automatically increase payments to the association’s leadership in the coming years in line with the general price increases failed. The state assembly with its 420 elected volunteer delegates from the district and district associations as well as from the five volunteer branches of the BRK, such as the water rescue service, the mountain rescue service, the medical services and the Youth Red Cross, is legally the highest body of the BRK.