For the current financial year, the council is planning an increase of around 15,000 euros. A loss of around 50,000 euros is planned for 2025. Despite the planned deficit next year, local mayor Hartwig Schneider is confident that there will be no objections to the double budget. “I can say that in recent years we have always done better than planned when it comes to the budget. We also achieved a plus in 2023.” Two factors played an important role in the planning of the current budget: the debt relief fund and the reduction in the municipality levy by two percentage points.
Michael Haack from the Haack voters’ group emphasized how important it was to join the debt relief fund. “There has even been a larger amount of debt relief than was originally announced.” The fund reduces the repayment rate that Martinshöhe has to plan for in the budget to pay off his loans. After joining, only 66,000 euros have to be paid back. 341,000 euros will be waived.
Palm: Is the country doing its homework?
Councilor Peter Palm fears: “At the moment the debt relief fund is helping a little. But the problems will catch up with us.” Palm elaborated: “The State Constitutional Court at some point determined that the handling of the municipalities’ financial resources was unconstitutional. Still nothing changes. The per capita debt in Rhineland-Palatinate does not result from the fact that we as municipalities live in luxury. So you have to ask yourself whether the state government is doing its homework properly compared to other states. Why does such a procedure take place if no consequences are drawn from the verdict? Something has to change sustainably. The debt relief fund doesn’t solve any problems.”
Oskar Hemmer (SPD) praised the debt relief and named another reason for the village’s poor financial resources. “What hits us here is the demographics and the way our village is shrinking. We will get a lot less money from key allocations.” Schneider agreed: “It sends shivers down my spine when I see the deaths in town this year.”
2024-03-31 16:05:51
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