There are plenty of municipalities that have to scrape together every cent: A total of 32 particularly financially weak and above-averagely indebted districts, cities, municipalities and collective municipalities in Lower Saxony will receive needs-based grants this year – a total of over 74 million euros, divided into amounts between 200,000 and 7.5 million euros.
“In total, 82 cities, municipalities, collective municipalities and districts applied for grants in 2024 due to an exceptional situation. The number of municipalities applying has thus increased by around 40 percent compared to the previous year,” Interior Minister Daniela Behrens summarizes the situation.
In recent years, the district town, like Grasberg and Worpswede, has consistently been on the list of communities in need. While the district town receives support amounting to 2.27 million euros and Grasberg 320,000 euros, Worpswede receives a subsidy of 830,000 euros.
This is very convenient for the municipality: Due to a budget deficit of almost six million euros, the municipal administration was only able to present a budget plan in July, which the district administration also approved. To do this, the municipal council had to, among other things, cancel all loans for the new indoor swimming pool.
“The need-based allocation cannot be included in the budget. But it is very important to secure our liquidity,” said Worpswede’s mayor Stefan Schwenke, pleased with the financial injection. However, he is critical of the fact that the situation in many municipalities requires such high need-based allocations: “I would of course prefer it if Worpswede and other municipalities were provided with such financial resources by the federal and state governments that such need-based allocations would not be necessary. Unfortunately, that is not the case.” As important as the need-based allocations are, they are a consolation for inadequate funding of the municipalities.
