At the beginning of his speech, District Administrator Allgaier made it clear that the budget situation was already strained in the current year, not only in the district of Ludwigsburg, but in almost all municipalities, and that this situation would continue to deteriorate in 2025. This is not only due to the difficult economic situation, but is now largely structural due to federal and state policy requirements. This can be seen, for example, in the inadequate hospital funding and the unclear reimbursement of costs by the state for refugees. "I can only clearly formulate the expectation that political decision-makers will make well-considered, sustainable and smart financial policy decisions and attach appropriate importance to the principle of connectivity ('he who orders, pays') enshrined in the state constitution and the adequate financial resources of their municipalities. Leaving the districts, towns and municipalities out in the cold here would be fatal and a further loss of political credibility."
County administration has set up a budget commission
According to the district administrator, the district administration had largely done its homework and had already identified and implemented numerous potential savings when drawing up the draft plan. However, as the process of budget consolidation and task criticism had to be continued, a budget commission had been set up to identify further savings potential with external support and to scrutinize the district's voluntary tasks. Nevertheless, the district budgets are largely externally determined and dependent on financial support from the federal and state governments. It is therefore important to create a balance between the mandatory municipal tasks and the funds earmarked for them for municipalities and therefore also districts. "Otherwise, municipal self-administration is massively at risk," warned District Administrator Allgaier.
The district's budget shows a deficit of 45.6 million. euros and a cash requirement of 25.7 million euros. The financial budget shows a decrease of 35.8 million euros in financial resources. The deficit in the ordinary result will further deplete the surplus reserve. According to the head of the district administration, it was not easy to decide which increase in the district levy to propose. In the financial planning, an increase to 33.5 percentage points had been planned for 2025. Last year, however, it was not yet known that the clinics would need to compensate for losses of around 30 million euros and that the results of the census would result in a high loss of income from key allocations of around 6 million euros. Ultimately, however, Allgaier said, the decision was made to propose a significantly lower increase of 3.5 percentage points in order to take into account the difficult budget situation of the municipalities in the district.
Funding requirements are financed almost entirely through new borrowing
According to District Administrator Allgaier, the high level of external financing of EUR 66 million must remain a one-off exception and must not become permanent. This is because the estimated financing requirement of 69.8 million euros will be financed almost entirely by new borrowing this time. He also announced that there would inevitably be further increases in the district contribution rate from 2026 to 2028.
The district administrator criticized the fact that, as in the previous year, there was no clear and therefore predictable financing framework for the clinics. The hospital reform, which cannot yet be conclusively assessed, is one reason for this and the consistently lower occupancy days compared to the reference year 2019 led to a permanent shortfall in fixed costs. "There are major risks for the clinics, as the development of hospital revenues cannot yet be conclusively determined at the time of planning." According to District Administrator Allgaier, the commitment of the shareholders of RKH Gesundheit to their municipal ownership and the further development of the clinics is a key pillar in this situation. With the new Medical Managing Director Dr. Marc Nickel and the Commercial Managing Director Axel Hechenberger, the company has a good management team that will face the special challenges with foresight and professional expertise.
A net resource requirement of 57 million euros has been budgeted for public transport, which corresponds to an increase of 4.2 million euros compared to the previous year. In bus transport alone, the district administration assumes that costs will rise from around 18.8 million euros to 25.6 million euros. According to the district administrator, there is also a cost risk for the city and district councils as public transport authorities with regard to the Deutschlandticket, as the 3 billion euros made available annually by the federal and state governments will not be sufficient in 2025 according to current estimates.
Integration assistance accounts for the largest share of the net subsidy requirement in the social budget
The largest block in the budget, the social budget with total transfer expenditure of 530.1 million euros, will once again present the district with major challenges, said District Administrator Allgaier. In terms of benefit expenditure, the administration assumes a net subsidy requirement of around 253.8 million euros. At around 107 million euros, the largest share is accounted for by integration assistance for people with disabilities. In the area of youth welfare, the district anticipates a subsidy requirement for services of just under 63 million euros.
The largest single investment in the budget, at 16 million euros, is the acquisition of additional classrooms for the Gröninger Weg school, which is "bursting at the seams" due to rising pupil numbers. With the two-location solution that has now been found, the district can meet the long-term and sustainable space requirements of the special education and counseling center.
The budget will now be discussed in the district council committees. The district council is scheduled to adopt the budget on December 20.
