The lack of funds in city budgets is caused by declining tax revenues due to the industrial crisis.
Almost every major city in Germany is facing a budget deficit, putting them on the brink of bankruptcy. This is reported by the local tabloid Bild, citing official financial data.
According to the publication, German cities and municipalities are experiencing a serious financial crisis. The total budget deficit has reached 30 billion euros.
The newspaper notes that the problem is systemic. The lack of funds in city budgets is caused by declining tax revenues due to the industrial crisis. At the same time, city authorities' expenditures on social needs continue to grow. "Practically every German city is on the verge of bankruptcy," said Thomas Kufen, the mayor of Essen in North Rhine-Westphalia, to the publication.
According to financial data provided to Bild journalists by the authorities of German cities, the largest budget deficit is experienced by the capital of Germany — Berlin. There, the gap in the city budget has reached 4.3 billion euros. Following far behind is Cologne, where the municipal budget deficit amounts to about 600 million euros. Düsseldorf ranks third in budget deficit among German cities, with the city treasury lacking approximately 400 million euros.
As the publication notes, if the current situation persists, and especially if the budget crisis worsens, city authorities will have to cut budget expenditures on the social sector, reducing funding for youth centers, museums, and other similar institutions.
As Bild writes, the budget crisis in the cities has prompted the heads of 13 federal states in Germany to seek help from the country's Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The latter acknowledged the existence of the problem and urged municipal authorities to "be more careful with money."
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