Shared services

Shared services between municipalities in New Caledonia: a guide

Falling revenue, investment at a low: what New Caledonia’s municipalities can share, with which legal tools, which co-funding and which method.

By Benjamin Forte · 19 October 2026 · 6-minute read

Shared services between municipalities in New Caledonia are no longer just a sound management idea. Since 2024, municipal budgets have tightened, and every town hall has to keep its services running with fewer resources. Sharing an IT service, a procurement unit or an engineer with neighbouring municipalities is one of the answers.

This guide is for mayors, councillors, municipal chief executives and town clerks, and for directors of public bodies. It covers what can be shared, the tools provided by the Code des communes (New Caledonia’s municipal code), the governance to plan for and the co-funding available.

Municipal finances: shrinking room for manoeuvre

The municipalities observatory published by AFD (Agence française de développement, the French development agency) in December 2025 paints a clear picture of the 33 municipalities in 2024:

actual operating revenue down 13.8%, to 45.9 billion XPF;
gross savings rate cut from 18.1% to 15.9%, just above the 15% floor AFD recommends;
capital spending down 23%, to 13.8 billion;
debt of 36 billion, equal to 77% of actual operating revenue;
grants and transfers making up 58% of that revenue, after a 16.5% fall.

The Chambre territoriale des comptes, the territorial audit court, points the same way. According to Outremers360, it found that actual investment by all local authorities fell 48% in 2024, to 38 billion XPF, a “historically low” level, and warned of a risk of a “scissor effect” between spending and revenue.

When more than half of revenue depends on grants that are themselves falling, sharing fixed costs becomes a condition for continuing to act.

What municipalities can share

The easiest services to share are those that require specialist skills but not a daily presence in every town hall.

IT: hosting, backups, security, financial and civil registry software, support. A small municipality struggles to recruit a technician; three municipalities can share one.
Public procurement: drafting specifications, assessing bids, joint purchasing of supplies, energy or insurance.
Human resources: payroll, training, risk prevention, recruiting scarce profiles.
Engineering: roads, buildings, water, grant applications. It often determines whether a municipality can draw on the funding available.

Inter-municipal cooperation already exists in New Caledonia. SIGN (Syndicat intercommunal du Grand Nouméa), a multi-purpose inter-municipal syndicate created in 2006, handles household waste treatment for its member municipalities, according to a City of Noumea council decision. The challenge is to extend that approach to support functions. The general principles are set out on our Shared services page.

The legal tools: agreements, municipal syndicates, mixed syndicates

Book I, Title VI of New Caledonia’s Code des communes deals with inter-municipal cooperation. It covers, among other things:

inter-municipal agreements and conferences (ententes et conférences intercommunales, articles L. 161-1 and L. 161-2);
the municipal syndicate (syndicat de communes, articles L. 163-1 onwards);
mixed syndicates (syndicats mixtes, articles L. 166-1 onwards), with separate rules depending on whether New Caledonia or the provinces take part;
communities of municipalities (communautés de communes), a more integrated form.

SMTU, the urban transport mixed syndicate that brings together the South Province and the municipalities of Noumea, Dumbéa, Mont-Dore and Païta, is a local example of a mixed syndicate.

In practice, the more integrated the tool, the sturdier it is, and the longer it takes to set up. As a first step, an agreement between municipalities, for instance to provide a service or second a staff member, may be enough; its legal basis and conditions should be checked in the code and with the department responsible for reviewing the legality of municipal acts. A syndicate makes sense once the service becomes permanent, employs its own staff and carries investment.

Governance and cost sharing

A service shared between municipalities of very different sizes has to reassure the smallest without holding back the largest. Three rules help:

A clear allocation key: population, number of staff, number of workstations or measured use. Combine a fixed share and a usage-based share, and review it every year.
Written service commitments: response times, on-site presence, priorities in a crisis.
A steering committee of elected officials and technical staff, reviewing a cost and quality dashboard every quarter.

The audit court’s report on SMTU, made public in March 2025, illustrates what is at stake. According to Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes, it found a “very compromised budget and cash position”, member contributions that were “stable and insufficient”, and South Province participation in its governance described as “legally fragile”.

The lesson applies to any project: set a sound legal framework from the start and plan contributions that keep pace with actual costs.

Co-funding: AFD, development contracts, the Pacific Fund

A shared service is funded first by the savings it makes. The initial investment (software, equipment, studies) can, however, attract co-funding.

AFD describes itself as the “long-standing operator of local development”: during the Covid-19 crisis, its loans and engineering support allowed many local authorities to keep their investment programmes going.
The 2024-2027 development contracts (contrats de développement): the State’s contribution is 39 billion XPF, part of which goes to the provinces and municipalities, according to Outremers360. Ask about the scope for including an inter-municipal project.
The Pacific Fund (Fonds Pacifique), for projects with a regional dimension: around 220 million XPF a year, 225.6 million for 54 projects in 2026, and a contribution capped at 50% of total cost. The project must involve a French Pacific territory and an independent state. The 2027 call for projects is open until 31 December 2026.

So the Pacific Fund does not pay for purely local sharing. It can, however, support cooperation with a neighbouring country if it falls within its 2027 priority themes: climate resilience, food security, public health, social development, sport, French-language cooperation and youth, according to Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes.

Shared services between municipalities: a four-step approach

The scoping workshop: bring together interested municipalities, councillors and technical staff, choose one or two functions and name a contact person in each municipality.
The diagnostic: measure the current situation in each municipality (staff, contracts, software, costs, service levels) and estimate the cost of a shared service, set-up included.
The set-up: choose the legal tool, draft the agreement or statutes, set the allocation key, then put the project to each municipal council.
Steering: start, measure, then adjust the key and service commitments after a year.

Start with a function where the need is shared and the risk is low, such as IT backups or joint purchasing. The trust built on that first topic makes the next ones easier. The specific needs of local authorities and public bodies are covered on our Public sector and Pacific page.

Key point

With revenue falling and grants making up 58% of operating revenue, municipalities would do well to start by sharing one simple support function, within a sound legal framework and with a clear allocation key.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a municipal syndicate and a mixed syndicate?

A municipal syndicate brings together municipalities. A mixed syndicate can combine municipalities with other local authorities or public bodies; New Caledonia’s municipal code sets separate rules depending on whether New Caledonia or the provinces take part. SMTU, which brings together the South Province and four Greater Noumea municipalities, is one example.

Can the Pacific Fund finance a municipal project?

Only if it has a regional dimension: the project must involve a French Pacific territory and an independent state, and the Fund’s contribution is capped at 50% of total cost. For the 2027 call, applications must be sent by 31 December 2026.

Where should municipalities start when sharing services?

With a single function, shared by two to four municipalities, where the need is clear and the risk low: IT backups, joint purchasing, engineering for grant applications. A diagnostic of current costs then lets you decide on the basis of figures.

Sources

Open the conversation between municipalities

CAP COMMUN starts with a free scoping workshop to find out whether sharing is worth it and which function to start with, before any costed study.

Discover CAP COMMUN Book a meeting