As of: January 23, 2024, 8:11 a.m
By: Stefanie Zipfer
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High key allocations for the Dachau district.
As in previous years, only Bergkirchen, Odelzhausen, Pfaffenhofen, Sulzemoos and Vierkirchen do not receive any money due to their good financial situation.
© Munich Merkur
There's a lot of money again!
The Dachau district will receive over 50 million euros in key allocations this year.
However, Munich's windfall is distributed very unevenly across the district municipalities.
The anger among those who came away empty-handed this year is correspondingly great.
Dachau
- As every year, CSU state parliament member Bernhard Seidenath was able to deliver the good news: This year, the Free State of Bavaria will pay exactly 50,132,568 euros in key allocations to the Dachau district, a good half of which will go to the district, the other half will be shared between the districts -communities.
According to Seidenath: “Our municipalities can rely on the Free State of Bavaria.” The key allocations would “strengthen local self-government” and “enable tailor-made local offers”.
Marcel Fath, Mayor of Petershausen © Archive
Marcel Fath, mayor of Petershausen, doesn't know whether he should "scream angrily, laugh loudly or cry" about it.
He considers this year's key allocations to be “disastrous and an absolute disgrace”.
If there was any proof needed to show how “broken” the Bavarian system of municipal financing was, then it would be these payments.
What makes the Free Voter Fath so angry is that his community will only receive 177,000 euros this year, which is 534,000 euros less than last year.
Fath says: “We did our damn duty last year, investing in child care and increasing our tax revenue.
We have done exemplary business – and now this is the reward!”
In fact, financially weak municipalities in particular benefit from the key allocations.
The city of Munich, for example, has not been a profiteer for years due to its high tax revenue.
This year, the Free State is spending a total of 4.44 billion euros on the warm windfall for the districts and municipalities, which are allowed to use the funds freely.
Critics of the allocations, including Dachau's SPD mayor Florian Hartmann, have been criticizing the lack of transparency and traceability of the funding based on the watering can principle for years.
“On the one hand, it is gratifying when the city receives additional funds,” said the mayor.
On the other hand, the key allocations in particular are problematic, “since they cannot be calculated and are subject to large fluctuations every year.
“It would make more sense to have sufficient financial resources for the municipalities”!
Mayor Franz Obesser (CSU) also holds this opinion.
Its municipality, Markt Indersdorf, is one of the municipalities that did well last year and was therefore massively worse off this year.
The Indersdorf treasure trove can only book 615,000 euros this year - over 1 million euros less than last year and 400,000 euros less than calculated in the budget for 2024.
Obesser emphasizes that he does not want “alms” from the Free State.
But what would be important to him: reliability and plannability.
“Then we would have calculated differently from the start.” Like the municipality of Petershausen, Indersdorf will now have to compensate for the loss in key allocations by dipping into reserves.
Stefan Kolbe, Mayor of Karlsfeld © Archive
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As mayor of the municipality of Karlsfeld, which has been cash-strapped for many years, Stefan Kolbe (CSU) is one of those who can look forward to key allocations.
But as spokesman for the district mayor, he says clearly: “The system is madness.” Not only is the system difficult to understand, but it is also ultimately counterproductive.
The 4.4 million euros that Karlsfeld will receive in key allocations this year will increase its district levy capacity.
“In two years the district will be happy about it.”
Florian Hartmann from Dachau is also not jumping for joy in view of the around 11 million euros in key allocations.
Sure, the money could be used to make household cosmetics and reduce borrowing.
In the end, however, the millions are “just a drop in the ocean.”
For the district mayors – regardless of their political affiliation – one thing is clear: the system of municipal financing needs to be revised.
In view of the fact that municipalities always have to fulfill new tasks - above all child care, but, according to Kolbe, also such "insane things" as the implementation of the whistleblower law - and at the same time have to shoulder "exorbitant" collective bargaining agreements in the public sector and skyrocketing energy costs, the communities have reached the end of their financial capacity.
“We can’t do it anymore,” said Kolbe.
An increase in the district levy beyond 50 percent is therefore out of the question for him and his colleagues: “No 5 before the decimal point, this peg is set!”
And when it comes to top politics, Kolbe and Co. ask for a willingness to talk.
So far, Prime Minister Markus Söder's interest in reforming local finances has been rather limited.
This, says Kolbe, “makes me terribly angry”!