The financial situation of the Weilheim-Schongau district looks anything but rosy - especially with a view to the coming years.
However, numerous investments in the coming years have not yet been decided and priced in.
District - The Weilheim-Schongau district has already invested heavily in recent years - above all in the renovation and construction of schools and vocational training centers, in the hospital GmbH and the renovation of the district office's administrative buildings.
For years this has brought increasing debts, the repayment of which will begin in the coming years.
This also ensures that by 2024 at the latest, all of the district's investments can only be financed through loans.
And according to a list that the district treasurer Norbert Merk presented to the finance and district committee, there is a lot to invest.
Merk emphasized that “the sums mentioned are a first number without any cost estimate or indexing at the time of completion”.
I mean: If the projects are actually implemented, the actual costs can differ significantly from today's estimates.
Nevertheless, they give an impression of what the district should theoretically have to invest.
In conversation for years: general renovation of the Peißenberg secondary school
The partial demolition and general renovation of the FOS-BOS Weilheim would cost around 30 million euros.
For the general renovation and the new construction of the indoor swimming pool and Jahnturnhalle in Weilheim, which has been negotiated between the district and the city for months, another 30 million euros would be due.
The general renovation of the secondary school in Peißenberg has also been under discussion for years.
In this context, according to the installation, the pavilion is also to be replaced by a new solution.
If this project is implemented, around six million euros would have to be budgeted in the district budget.
The redevelopment of the administrative building of the district office is far from over.
If everything were to be refurbished or if replacement buildings were to be built for individual buildings in Weilheim and Schongau, costs of around 30 million euros can be expected.
Total investments in building construction amount to at least 140 million euros
Around four million euros per year would be due for the maintenance of the district roads - for the entire period under consideration from 2021 to 2026, another 24 million euros.
The list also includes the creation of living space for hospital staff, for which a flat rate of 20 million euros was priced in.
This means that the total amount of investments in building construction - mind you, without the approximately five million euros that are available per year for the medical investments of the Weilheim-Schongau GmbH hospital - amounts to at least 140 million euros.
In his presentation, Merk expressly points out that this sum does not yet include any investments for the decided expansion of the everyday cycle path network.
With a view to the financial situation of the district - a total debt of around 112 million euros is already expected for 2024 - it is already foreseeable that this “wish list” has hardly any real chance of being implemented in full.
In his presentation, Merk consequently emphasized: "All investments must be put to the test".
It is also proposed that a corresponding funding proposal must be submitted for every project that is brought into the district council.
Housing for hospital staff: There is the possibility of a funding program
Creativity is required.
A good example of this is the debate about the around 20 million euros that the district would have to raise to create living space for hospital staff.
"There is a funding program for this that can only be used by municipalities," says district treasurer Norbert Merk.
In this case, the Free State would cover 30 percent of the costs.
This would make it possible to offer a 30 square meter apartment warm and furnished for around 400 euros a month.
"The need is great, if everything is rented out, that would be a business for the district that would result in plus-minus zero," said Merk.
If you decide to make such an investment, the living space created should not only be available to hospital staff, but should also be offered to vocational students.
“This would make it possible to establish new training fields with a large catchment area at the vocational schools,” Merk continued.
In the end, the district council has to decide which investments it considers to be so important in the coming years that they should be implemented.
And where the money should come from.
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