Suche
District levy in Gotha is increasing: cities and communities in need!
The Gotha district is planning to increase the district levy by 2.5% to cover a budget deficit of 15 million euros.
District levy in Gotha is increasing: cities and communities in need!
In the Gotha district, the municipalities are facing a financial challenge: the increase in the district levy by around 2.5 percentage points is intended to compensate for a budget gap of around 15 million euros. This reported MDR. Through this measure, cities and municipalities are expected to raise an additional seven million euros. The deficit in the administrative budget is expected to remain at around eight million euros, which is primarily due to increased social spending.
There are skeptical voices from the municipal perspective about the increase in the levy. The first communities such as Georgenthal and Waltershausen have expressed concerns. Waltershausen emphasizes that the financial situation is tense and savings will be necessary in order to remain able to act in the future. The municipality of Hörsel could be particularly affected, as it expects its own budget deficit due to the higher levy and falling key allocations.
Criticism and resistance
The resistance to increasing the district levy is primarily forming in Gotha. Mayor Knut Kreuch (SPD) describes the measures as “rabid” and warns of the financial difficulties they could cause for Gotha. The city would be directly affected by around 1.5 million euros. District Administrator Onno Eckert (SPD) also emphasizes that the assessment rate of 37.11 percent is still one of the lowest in Thuringia and is optimistic that the deficit could be reduced by the state's double budget.
The district council has also approved a budget with a total volume of around 257 million euros, which also provides for investments of around 25.5 million euros. Projects such as the complex renovation of the Ernestinum high school, the digitalization of the administration and the renovation of district roads are on the list of prioritized projects. This was discussed in another article by Gotha Current thematised.
The financial situation
With an administrative budget of around 231 million euros and an asset budget of a good 26 million euros, the financial planning provides for various increases in expenditure, particularly in the area of social and youth welfare. The discussion about the district levy was a central point of contention in the district council. The current amount is now around 57 million euros, which is 0.25 percentage points higher than the previous year. District Administrator Eckert expressed satisfaction with the budget plan, but warned of possible financial risks in the future.
It will therefore be exciting to see how the planned investments and the adjustments to the levy are received by the affected municipalities, especially in view of the fact that further burdens could arise for the cities and municipalities if the state allocations do not increase.