Budget crisis in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis: Record deficit and tax increases threaten!

In the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, the budget situation in 2024. According to the current report of HNA , the record deficit of 14 million euros last year rose to over 24 million euros. District Administrator Nicole Rathgeber attributed the causes of this tense financial situation to several factors, including rising standards, falling allocations from the state and a decline in tax revenue. The inflation -related expenditure also puts a significant impact on the household.

For the year 2025, another deficit of around 17 million euros is predicted, which is partly due to uncovered costs for the care of refugees that make up an additional 2.5 million euros. In order to cope with this situation, the district plans to increase the district levy by three percentage points, which will lead to higher taxes of the municipalities. The city of Eschwege also reports from a dramatic decline in trade tax revenue from 12 million euros (2023) to only about 7 million euros (2024), which causes many municipalities to consider tax increases in order to compensate for their deficits.

additional challenges for the municipalities

The financial situation in the cities and municipalities of the Werra-Meißner district remains tense, as the results of the annual local finance analysis of the federal government of taxpayers Hessen, about the Hesse reported. For 2023, ten of the sixteen cities and municipalities cannot present a balanced household, which corresponds to the double number compared to the previous year. Bad Sooden-Allendorf and Ringgau are once again faced with the problem of not being able to compensate for their deficits in the annual financial statements through reserves.

The challenges for the municipalities increase the growing number of refugees, the energy crisis and rising interest rates. These factors lead to further budget deficits and tax increases, which underlines the need for consolidation measures, according to Jochen Kilp, board member of the Hessian taxpayers' association. He warned of a sustainable imbalance of municipal finances, which may lead to additional tax increases, new debt or investment cuts.