Social expenditure in Schweinfurt: Budget 2025 under pressure!

Social expenditure in Schweinfurt: Budget 2025 under pressure!

The financial worries of the city of Schweinfurt are larger than ever. For 2025, the Office for Social Affairs has set up a tight budget, which, with 17.19 million euros in expenses, is significantly below the usual values. Nevertheless, the number of people who rely on these social benefits continues to increase. Head of Office Matthias Kreß explained the challenges in the social committee that had to be mastered when the budget was drawn up in order to meet the social requirements as possible.

The Office for Social Affairs has a broad responsibility that covers social welfare, housing benefit, help for asylum seekers and various advisory services. The main burden of expenses is social assistance, which is financed directly by the federal and state governments. A total of 1,341 people in Schweinfurt are currently dependent on social welfare, an increase that is due to demographic development: the population is getting older and more and more seniors are dependent on basic security.

growth of applications and costs in the health sector

In the past two years, the cost burden for health aid has increased. The expenses here have risen from 342,000 euros to 684,500 euros, and for 2025 additional costs of 842,000 euros have already been planned. One reason for this increase is the Ukrainian refugees who arrive with serious illnesses in Germany and which are covered by the social aid service. The support payments for these people also affect the urban budget.

At the same time, the “housing allowance plus” residential gear reform led to a sudden increase in the applications. In 2022, 789 applications were still processed, but in 2023 there are already 1,153. This brings an increase in costs for the rent subsidy to EUR 2.3 million, while it was 1.3 million euros last year. However, half of these expenses are borne by the federal government and the country, which the city is financially relieved. The average processing time for a housing benefit application is only 17 days. Kreß emphasizes that this is also thanks to the "good work" of his team.

The Situation of refugee people from Ukraine remains tense. At the moment, 173 refugees live in an urban emergency accommodation, the Ledward Barracks. Accommodation is not always uncomplicated, since it lacks both living space and the willingness of the refugees to move into permanent accommodations. A positive message from the asylum area, however, is that the payment card for refugees, which has been introduced since summer 2023, has been successful and no problems have occurred.

For those who receive social assistance or citizenship, it remains that they can continue to use public transport at a discount. While the municipal utilities will switch to cashless payment systems in the near future, Kreß gives the all-clear: Social ID owners can continue to benefit from the discounts in the future. In the budget for 2025, 180,000 euros are planned as deficiency compensation for the municipal utilities.

The close budget of the Office for Social Affairs is a special challenge for the future, especially in view of the increasing demand for social services, which is also accompanied by a growing and aging population. as reports www.mainpost.de , those responsible must continue to find creative solutions in order to meet the social needs of the population in this tense financial situation.