Record deficit of the municipalities: urgent call for help from Zweibrücken!

Record deficit of the municipalities: urgent call for help from Zweibrücken!

The financial situation of the municipalities in Germany worsened massively in 2024. According to a report by the Rheinpfalz Overall, municipalities are a record deficit of around 24.8 billion euros. This is the biggest deficit since reunification in 1990 and more than four times as high as in the previous year. The main cause of these alarming numbers is the continuously increased social expenditure that increased by around 12 percent.

The expenditure for child and youth welfare, which rose by 17.1 percent, and the expenditure for integration aids, which increased by 13.6 percent, rose particularly strongly. In view of this dramatic development, the campaign alliance “for the dignity of our cities” demands increased support from the Federal Government.

claims of the alliance of action

The alliance, which consists of 73 municipalities from eight federal states, including Frankenthal, Kaiserslautern, Ludwigshafen, Neustadt, Pirmasens and Zweibrücken, is opposed to the federal government with clear claims. These contain a higher proportion of the federal government in the social benefits for the municipalities, a stronger financial participation of the cities in the tax revenue and further measures for financial discharge.

• ban on the transfer of tasks to municipalities without secure financing
• Participation of the federal government in a municipal old debt solution
• reduction in bureaucracy and digitization to increase efficiency

In particular, the mayor of Zweibrücken, Christian Gauf, commented on the developments in the deficit. He underlined that they reflect the current budget situation of the city and criticized the lack of counter -financing for tasks that are transferred to the municipalities by the federal and state governments. Gauf supports the claims of the campaign alliance and warns of the impending incapacity of many municipalities.

The situation illustrates that the municipalities suffer from the ongoing financial burden and the lack of support from the federal and state governments. The pent -up pressure could have far -reaching consequences for the municipal infrastructure and the support of the citizens. This topic is dealt with in a broader context of the municipal finances, as is also in IW Cologne documented.