Amendment to the budget: Reduced increase in the district levy

The district council shall decide:           

The lifting rate for the district levy in the financial year 2022 will be increased by 1.0 percent to 33.47 percent.

Explanatory memorandum:

For years, the Main-Kinzig-Kreis has shown high surpluses in the ordinary result, which were significantly higher than the planning of previous financial years.

• In 2017, 1 million euros was planned, in fact it was 36 million euros
• In 2018, 23 million euros were planned, in fact, there were 53 million
• 22 million euros were planned in 2019, in fact it was 48 million euros
• In 2020, 15 million euros were planned, in fact, it will be around 39 million euros

The overscheduled financial statements are pleasing and help to further consolidate the finances of the Main-Kinzig district. On the other hand, a realistic result planning would also show more clearly the existing financial leeway here.

With the 2021 supplementary budget, the district surcharge was reduced by 2.5 percent in order to relieve the local authorities in times of the coronavirus pandemic and to pass on the further relief in the cost of accommodation (KdU) to the local authorities.

The present draft budget envisages a 2% increase in the district levy.

Thus, the Main-Kinzig-Kreis wants to achieve an ordinary annual result of around 15.9 million euros in the earnings budget and 278,681 euros in the financial budget. According to Landrat Thorsten Stolz, there is no room for manoeuvre here and this increase in the district levy one year after the reduction is unavoidable.

At the same time, the district is planning 26 new posts for 2022, including 19 additional civil servant posts, which will put a permanent financial burden on the Main-Kinzig district due to the pension provisions to be formed. Here, the examples of other districts and municipalities should be followed, which no longer create and occupy new official positions. Instead, a reduction of the more than 330 existing civil servant posts to a necessary level should be sought in the medium term.

The necessary investments of around 55 million euros in important areas such as schools, clinics and digitalisation require a net new debt of around 25 million euros. Unfortunately, important investment fields such as climate protection and cycle path construction do not appear in the investment program at all or with only a small investment volume.

An adjustment of the district levy is the last option to close open financing gaps, therefore existing savings potential should be used and the district levy should be increased by a maximum of one percentage point.

In the coming years, the aim of the district should be to avoid further burdening the municipalities and to give greater weight to the factor of consolidation in the budget in order to maintain an ability to act not only in the district, but also in the municipalities of the district.

This is because: The Main-Kinzig-Kreis is mainly a merger of numerous municipalities, for which we as a district have a duty of care.