Kiel in need: Budget lock due to massively increasing expenses!
Kiel in need: Budget lock due to massively increasing expenses!
Kiel, Deutschland - The city of Kiel faces serious financial challenges. Mayor Ulf Kämpfer (SPD) pulled the emergency brake on May 23 and imposed a budget lock because the deficit could initially increase from 80 to up to 220 million euros. It is not without reason that these developments are worrying. The main cause of this black hole are the exploding personnel and care expenses, which have increased by a whopping 68 million euros. Increasing provisions for pension containers have struck particularly violently, which are 56 million euros above the original plans, whereby a software error of the pension compensation fund (VAK) contributed to the misery.
Anke Oeken from the Kiel Greens recently explained in a press release that the city's financial situation urgently needs a solution. The dramaturgy about the increasing costs for social aid, especially in child, youth and family help, further exacerbates the situation. In addition, interest loads increase the public finances, which draws the forecast for 2025 in another negative strudel, because you expect around 1.5 million euros.
budget lock and social responsibility
For Kiel, this budget lock not only means a financial dilemma, but also a cut into social services. Dr. Christina Schubert from the SPD council group described the situation as a turning point in budgetary policy and criticized state politics. She criticized that the cities are transferred more and more tasks without being provided with the appropriate funds. "We cannot afford cuts in the social and education sector," continued Schubert. The costs that arise from the incompatible minor foreigners and the increased home fees in care are separately significant. These additional loads add up to several million euros. The city of Kiel also had to feel infections in the network of municipal finances: it receives 26.6 million euros less from the municipal financial equalization than originally planned.The outlook and solutions
The city administration is aware of the precarious situation and plans to take targeted measures in order to counter the financial challenges. More than a moment of expenses seems to be necessary, since individual measures are hardly able to ensure sustainable stabilization of the household. A confusing patchwork of financial dispositions must be considered.
At the municipal level there is a uniform pleading after better financial resources from the state and the federal government. Mayor calls for reforming the topic of debt brake in order to enable the municipalities to make a real trend reversal. It remains to be seen whether such a reform is realistic in the near future. The German Cities Day is concerned in a flash of lightning: Almost 37 percent of the cities surveyed cannot present a balanced budget, and 95 percent rate their budget as bad or very bad in the next five years.
The pressure on the municipalities to finance themselves on their own, while the expenses for social tasks are growing at the same time. The new federal government urgently demands measures to stabilize local finances. It is only to be hoped that the political course will soon change direction and a solution will be found that the city of Kiel and its citizens can benefit from the long term.
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| Ort | Kiel, Deutschland |
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