Dresden in financial chaos: double budget 2025/2026 faces big questions!

Dresden in financial chaos: double budget 2025/2026 faces big questions!

Dresden.An uncertain game with the future! The city's finance officials face a daunting challenge: preparing a double budget for 2025 and 2026 without really knowing what the coming years will bring. Energy prices, construction costs and the number of asylum seekers – everything is uncertain. In these turbulent times, precise planning is almost impossible and the city could fall into a financial trap.

The traffic light coalition made up of the SPD, Greens and FDP has placed numerous burdens on municipalities without providing the necessary financial support. Saxony also shows little willingness to cover the costs of important benefits such as the education ticket. The question remains whether a new coalition, perhaps a “Blackberry”, can change this situation. The revenue forecasts for Dresden are bleak and the city has to make drastic savings. Once cut, it is difficult to restore.

One year of planning instead of a double budget!

In this tense situation, people are calling for a return to one-year budget planning. This could enable more realistic assumptions and prevent unpleasant surprises such as a 24 million euro budget gap in personnel costs. The collective bargaining agreements from 2023, which will not take effect until 2024, have put the tax officials in trouble. If they had only planned for one year, they could adjust the increases better. But now they have to look into the crystal ball and are left empty-handed.