Füssen - For the second time in a row, the citizens' meeting of the city of Füssen had to take place online due to the Corona crisis.
Mayor Maximilian Eichstetter (CSU) therefore took stock for two hours last Thursday evening in front of the camera and gave an account.
The town hall chief went into the finances of the city in exceptional detail.
As is well known, things are far from good about them.
But there shouldn't be a blanket string concert.
The city is expected to have accumulated around 60 million euros in debt by the end of the year (the district messenger reported in detail several times). "That is a huge sum!", Known Eichstetter, who at the same time warned against panic. “Not all debts are the same!” For example, debts for the purchase of land or the renovation of communal properties could make sense in the long term, since a profit is achieved.
The mayor reminded that the district office was demanding a budget consolidation program from the city.
The first resolutions for this should be available by the end of the year, he announced.
The aim of the program is a “noticeable reduction in debt” in order to create financial leeway.
One will probably not get around cuts in the so-called voluntary benefits.
As an example, he cited the winter service, which is operated intensively in Füssen and costs almost a quarter of a million euros a year.
Everything on the test bench
As a tourist stronghold as well as a sports and cultural city, on the other hand, there are also voluntary services that cannot be dispensed with - for example, the maintenance of hiking and cycling trails. However, municipal assets should also be examined with regard to their necessity. Furthermore, every planned or already decided major project will probably not be able to be implemented immediately. "We have to see how we deal with it now," he said.
The town hall chief gave the all-clear. “Consolidation doesn't mean we're not spending any more money now.” On the contrary, investments should continue to be made in the purchase of land for new building areas or the renovation of urban properties. For example, 9.5 million euros are currently earmarked for land purchase.
The first successes in reducing liabilities have already been achieved.
Eichstetter reported that despite the tight financial situation, the administration has paid off 1.1 million euros in debt this year.
This corresponds to a high repayment rate of 5.7 percent.
In the case of loans - the city and municipal utilities have taken out a total of 81 loans in the past - repayments of around 1.3 million euros have been made this year.
Together they make around 2.4 million euros less in debt.
"The squirrel eats hard," said the town hall chief.
Money rain from Munich?
In the case of loans in Swiss francs (SF), debt rescheduling and repayments have succeeded in reducing liabilities from around eleven million to a good eight million francs.
Furthermore, repayments from the Munich-based private bank Hauck & Aufhäuser of around three million euros are expected in the next two to three years.
As reported several times in the district messenger, the city had won the derivatives lawsuit against the bank in court.
