News from November 5th, 2020
Many municipalities are up to their necks. Eleven of the 20 most heavily indebted cities and districts in Germany are in Rhineland-Palatinate. The district of Neuwied is also above average in debt with a total volume of EUR 166.5 million.
Neuwied district. The reason for the structural underfunding is a lack of counter-financing for the mandatory tasks that the federal and state governments have delegated to the municipalities for decades. The corona pandemic is drastically exacerbating the precarious budget situation. Now, for the first time, the cross-party action alliance for the dignity of our cities is addressing the population directly with a call for help, explains Neuwied District Administrator Achim Hallerbach and joining the movement.
On November 3rd, the starting signal for the digital signature campaign Petition Heimat was given in Pirmasens. In the next six weeks, all citizens are called upon to work hard for a better future for their home country. Just a few clicks on the Internet. The petition is addressed to the Rhineland-Palatinate state government and the parliamentary group leaders in the state parliament. The focus of the required package of measures is an adequate funding of the municipalities in order to be able to perform the tasks assigned by law, as well as a solution to the old debt problem.
More and more cities and districts are threatened with losing their own creative ability. Because despite their own various savings measures, the financially weak municipalities never get the massive problems under control. The corona pandemic currently shows how important the competence of the municipalities is to solve socio-political problems, emphasizes Hallerbach.
At the same time, however, the fulfillment of the tasks for the local community is noticeably restricted. This can be seen above all through cuts in the repair of roads, health care, public transport as well as in culture, sport, leisure and educational offers. This cannot and must not be, as it meanwhile means that the equivalence of living conditions guaranteed by the constitution is no longer guaranteed in cities and counties with particularly high social burdens, adds Hallerbach.
If the Gordian knot of structural underfunding in Rhineland-Palatinate is actually to be smashed, the action group has to start where the financial responsibility for the cities and communities lies: with the state government, according to the action alliance. In this context, Hallerbach recalls the ruling of 2012 won by the Constitutional Court of Rhineland-Palatinate. The state government has not made the noticeable contribution to overcoming the local financial crisis demanded by the highest judges in the state.
The municipalities immediately need sufficient funding for the mandatory state tasks assigned to them, so that they can make a minimum of voluntary services without having to finance this with new loans.
I ask the citizens of the district: Participate in the online petition so that we can make our home livable for all generations in the future, appeals District Administrator Achim Hallerbach.
Information and the opportunity to participate in the There is a petition here.
Become a fan of the NR-Kurier.de local edition Neuwied on Facebook!
– .
