Municipalities in the Oldenburger Land: Financial crisis threatens citizens!

Municipalities in the Oldenburger Land: Financial crisis threatens citizens!

In the Oldenburg Land, district councilors and mayor alarm are raising alarm: At a meeting in the Ahlhorn log house, it became clear that the municipalities are financially at the limit. The central message is clear: Without fundamental reforms in municipal financing, there are serious consequences for society as a whole. The problem is that new laws that issue the federal and state governments are often linked to the municipalities without sufficient financial support. It is not just about freedom of contributions in kindergartens or all-day care, but also about obligations in disaster protection and the latest cannabis legalization. The municipalities themselves have to finance these new tasks, which leads to an alarming debt, which cannot be contained even by drastic savings, such as nwzonline.de reported.

financial burdens and complaints

The municipalities concerned are often without a legal claim when it comes to rejection of costs by the federal government and the federal states. While some cities have already filed legal complaints, the outcome of these procedures remains uncertain, which makes both politicians and citizens nervous. In addition, despite a budget surplus in billions of bills, considerations are made at the state level that these funds should not benefit the municipalities. This leads to a tense relationship between the municipal representatives and the decision -makers in Hanover, since the municipalities have to make payments for services that they have not ordered themselves. According to bpb.de , the income of the municipalities from taxes, fees and assignments of the state and federal government are often not sufficient to finance the diverse tasks such as schools, police and healthcare. Here it becomes clear that the financial situation of the municipalities is not only a local, but a structural problem within the German financial system.