Magdeburg (dpa/sa) – According to a current household survey by the district council, the eleven districts in Saxony-Anhalt lack around 185 million euros to balance their budgets. The reason for this is “sudden cost increases in 2023,” the association said on Friday. High energy costs for administration buildings, schools and local public transport as well as significant additional spending in the social and youth sectors made it impossible for the districts to cover the expenses with the expected income, said President Götz Ulrich (CDU), who is the district administrator in the Burgenland district.
“The higher costs for heating and accommodation with the new citizen’s allowance, for educational support and for the accommodation and care of Ukrainian war refugees are noticeable,” Ulrich continued. According to the association, due to a lack of tax revenue of their own, the districts are more dependent on adequate municipal financial equalization than any other municipal group. However, the present draft law of the state government only provides for an increase in allocations of 36.5 million euros compared to 2022. Ulrich called for a significantly higher increase and more funds for investments in district roads.
