Munich (dpa / lby) – Bavaria’s cities and municipalities are, according to their own calculations, heading towards an increasingly dangerous financial situation. “The municipalities’ income is already falling, expenses are increasing rapidly and excessively. The general conditions are becoming enormously more difficult,” said the chairman of the Bavarian Association of Cities, the mayor of Straubing, Markus Pannermayr (CSU), on Wednesday in Munich. The financial worries had an unprecedented impact. In order to prevent the collapse that is threatening in many places, the municipalities are demanding significantly more money from the Free State.
Municipal budgets are in trouble and a pain point has already been reached in many cities, said Pannermayr. The uncontrolled increasing – but necessary – expenditure of cities and municipalities would endanger the municipalities’ willingness to perform. “There needs to be a strong municipal financial equalization for 2024, which must not be limited to the low growth in community tax revenue,” said the association head. The Free State must provide more resources so that the municipalities remain able to act.
Pannermayr: “Municipalities are entitled to financing that is appropriate to their tasks through an efficient municipal financial equalization system. This is not an act of mercy from the state government and state parliament, but rather the basis for municipalities to be able to properly fulfill their tasks.”
Finance Minister Albert Füracker (CSU) immediately dampened all expectations of an additional financial injection: “The Free State of Bavaria is also struggling with declining tax revenues, expectedly high tariff increases and strong inflation – there is therefore no financial leeway in the state budget,” he told the dpa in Munich. Bavaria’s municipalities have had a leading position compared to other countries when it comes to investment rates for years, have low debt and hardly any cash loans. Füracker also emphasized that the federal government must fulfill its financial responsibility for the municipalities.
At first glance, the pure figures for tax revenue and financial equalization volume suggested a stable financial situation, said Pannermayr. But a second look shows that tax revenues are stagnating, but expenses will continue to rise steeply. In addition, a decline in tax revenue is expected due to the tense economic situation.
In some places – such as Straubing and Ingolstadt – budget blocks have already been imposed. While Ingolstadt was previously the only major city in Bavaria that had no debt, the debt is now rising to a three-digit million amount, said Mayor Christian Scharpf (SPD).
According to the information, Bavaria’s cities and municipalities are currently recording a massive increase in spending of more than ten percent; The financing deficit was therefore already at an “unusually high” three billion euros in the first half of 2023. In 2024, the situation will worsen further due to the collective agreement in the public service and further increases in social spending.
In addition, high inflation significantly limits the scope for investments, and in the next few years a wealth of additional tasks and expenses will be assigned to municipalities. As examples, Pannermayr cited the legal right to all-day care for primary school children, climate protection expenditure and the maintenance of the many loss-making hospitals.
Municipal financial equalization has grown steadily in Bavaria in recent years. In 2022 it was an impressive 11.3 billion euros. The Free State’s financial leeway is now massively restricted, and tax estimates predict declining revenues here too. Negotiations on the next municipal financial equalization will begin in December.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:231115-99-953291/3
2023-11-15 13:37:53
#Bavarias #cities #communities #demanding #money
