Landkreis Vorpommern-Greifswald sends a call for help: circular levy should decrease!

Landkreis Vorpommern-Greifswald sends a call for help: circular levy should decrease!

In the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, the financial situation is tense and the signs are on change. District Administrator Michael Sack of the CDU has an urgent concern: He plans to reduce the circular levy in the supplementary budget from currently incredible 48.5 percent to 44 percent. A step that would bring the communities a relief of around 14.1 million euros. This measure should also be a call for help to the country in order to cope with the increasing social costs.

The pressure to get the finances under control is enormous. Current projections show that the district has to struggle with a deficit of around 74 million euros, which is mainly caused by increasing expenses in the areas of youth and social affairs. Sack itself describes the financial framework as catastrophic and emphatically demands measures by the federal and state governments to relieve the municipalities, according to [NDR] reports. The planned reduction in the circular levy could play an important role.

additional support approaches

The CDU parliamentary group also brought in another proposal: a reduction in the levy to 42 percent. This would release an additional six million euros for 2025. An initiative of the Greens was also discussed in the Finance Committee, which aims to reduce the levy to 40 percent. However, this did not find a majority. Committee chairman Sascha Ott from the CDU expressed that the previous savings efforts were no longer sufficient and emphasized that a sustainable solution can only be achieved by changes at the state and federal level.

Although the challenges are huge, a look back at the preliminary degrees of municipal finances in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for 2022 shows that there were also bright spots. Thanks to unexpectedly good trade tax revenue and stable income tax revenue, positive one -off effects could be booked in some areas. These help at short notice, but the long-term asset remains questionable how [StGT-MV] determines.

the district council and the upcoming decisions

The district council is expected to decide on the supplementary budget in July. The increase in costs in the areas of energy, personnel and social spending due to inflation and tariff increases will also complicate the negotiations. While the liquidity was still sufficient at the end of 2022, in the coming years there will be serious financial challenges due to persistent defects in specialists and building materials that delay important investments and entertainment work.

The future of the district depends largely on the decisions that will be made in the next few weeks. "There is something", so you could well rewrite the situation. Only with a good hand and a comprehensive initiative from those responsible in politics will it be possible to master the situation and offer citizens: inside perspectives for a solid municipal financial policy. Stay on it!

For more information on municipal finances in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, you can also read the articles on [Nordkurier], [NDR] and [StGT-MV].