Municipalities report record deficit for 2024

The German municipalities are no longer as clumsy as they have been since reunification. Where there has always been hope for improvement, there is now for the first time "no light at all at the end of the tunnel", complains the district day - and appeals to Schwarz-Rot.

From the "cost of what it would like" in the Corona period to the abolition of cold progression without counter-financing to the countries as black financial holes: the reasons for the massive new debt.

At the state parliament meeting on Wednesday, the focus was on the budget gap and the savings plans of the Vorarlberg state government. Governor Markus Wallner (ÖVP) dropped some remarkable statements. In 2024, the budget deficit of Vorarlberg amounted to exactly 150.8 million euros, which meant that the deficit was far higher than estimated. Since then, the alarm bells have ringed in the country, especially as there is no prospect of a rapid ec…

It is well known that the municipalities are also extremely close to the cash register. How scarcely, that shows a new statistics. And it could get even worse.

The households of the municipalities had the highest deficit since 1990 with 24.8 billion euros in 2024 – almost a quadrupling compared to 2023. Main cause: The federal government orders services, but does not pay.

With a deficit of just under 25 billion euros, German municipalities have reached the highest level since reunification in 2024. Social benefits in particular are burdening the cash register.