Green parliamentary group: Cities and municipalities must compensate for the district's budget hole
"The budget adopted by the Grand Coalition in December leads to significant budgetary burdens in many municipalities", says Reiner Bousonville, Group Chairman of the Greens Main-Kinzig. “By budgeting with the 1.8 point increase in the district levy, many municipalities will be forced to compensate for the additional expenditure by further savings measures and, not least, by increasing local tax levies.”
In recent years, the case-law of the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Federal Administrative Court) has correctly pointed out that ‘the district levy levies may not simply be increased until the budget has been balanced. So the district cannot simply pass on its financial hardship to the cities and municipalities. There is an automatism at the top of the circle: “Budget hole in the district – closure by district levy””, says Bousonville.
Since 2014, the district has raised around 200 million euros more than it had previously predicted: "In every year in which Landrat Thorsten Stolz spoke of a tight budget year, the circle achieved between 20 and 35 million euros in surplus. In principle, prudent budgeting is not wrong, but realistic figures would simply be desirable in the future", said the Group President, adding: ‘At the time, the opposition’s motions, arguing that there was no room for manoeuvre, were rejected by the Grand Coalition.’
At the same time, the circle allows itself a significant increase in official positions, while most municipalities try to reduce them for reasons of economy. "The upcoming reception rate for refugees again shows that the allocated funding from the district is not sufficient for housing and integration and that this shortfall must also be covered by the municipalities," explains Bousonville. This, too, would result in high financial expenses for many municipalities: ‘The circle is ducking away as the municipalities try to somehow cover the costs of the district council’s pessimistic fiscal policy.’
Bousonville is particularly surprised that numerous mayors from the SPD and CDU districts have also approved the 2022 budget: ‘They then sit in their municipalities, trying to present a balanced budget without tax increases, but praising this budget as “objective, forward-looking and prudent” at the lectern of the county council. Here it is up to the citizens not to support such a fiscal policy of the circle, which ultimately affects the people of the circle", concludes Bousonville.
Enquiries to:
Jakob Mähler
Group Managing Director
Alliance 90 / The Greens Main-Kinzig
06181/61596
0176/46763336
fraktion@gruene-mkk.de
English (UK)
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