The Attenkirchen community has to save, but not now, during the Corona crisis. The municipal councils recently decided unanimously to reduce their reserves by around 140,000 euros and to take out a 1.8 million euros loan next year. The plan is for the municipality to have 400,000 euros in reserves and 2.25 million euros in debt by the end of 2021.
Mayor Mathias Kern (voter group We) pointed out that loans are cheap at the moment and negative interest has to be paid for reserves. In this respect, it makes sense to reduce cash assets. After intensive, non-public preliminary discussions, all municipal council members approved the budget. This is a novelty in Attenkirchen, where the adoption of the budget has so far regularly turned into trench warfare between the groups.
“We have financial problems”, analyzed Mayor Kern, but the municipality wants to act “countercyclically” in the crisis and not ask citizens to pay more. The trade tax rate and childcare fees are not increased and the clubs are supported with fee waivers. This “courageous budget” was agreed with the local authority, explained Kern, who has been in office since May and had promised to clean up the finances.
In particular, the municipality must look closely at its current expenses in the future, which means the time from 2022, and “optimize” personnel costs, as Kern said. Because in the coming year the administrative budget (running costs) closes with a minus of almost 700,000 euros. In good years, surpluses are generated in the administrative budget, which can then be used for investments. The municipality sets the focus of expenditure on the construction measures (7,860,000 euros) and the expansion of the sewage treatment plant (620,000 euros).
In addition to these infrastructure improvements, Kern is committed to supporting families. The number of hours of the youth worker was increased from January 1st. At the moment, youth care is only digital, he reported. The budgets for culture and for the districts were also increased. The town hall chief emphasized that the renovation of the playgrounds was also important to the municipality. He used the red pencil when building cycle paths, which is not so urgent, says Kern.
The mayor assumes that next year income, especially from income tax, will fall significantly, as many citizens of Attenkirchen are employed at the airport, by airlines and in the automotive industry and are now on short-time work or have already lost their jobs entirely . Hope rests on the trade tax, as Attenkirchen has a good mix of industries, said Kern.
The renovation of the community finances should be prepared as early as next year, for example a new fee calculation in the field of sewage and funeral services is planned. The municipality will also increase childcare fees in the long term, Kern listed the fundraising measures. In addition, the belts are tightened when spending and, in addition to personnel costs, the voluntary services of the municipality are also precisely analyzed, Kern described the timetable after the Corona crisis.
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