Bremen is planning record loans: 148 million for education and social affairs!

Bremen is planning record loans: 148 million for education and social affairs!

There is a lot of rumblings in Bremerhaven because the city council is about to hold an important special meeting. The third supplementary budget for 2023 will be decided on December 15th. The reason for this urgency? A decisive ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court that stipulates that funds from emergency loans must be spent in the same year. Creating reserves from these funds is no longer permitted. This will result in some changes that will affect not only Bremerhaven but also the entire region. The city must dissolve the Bremerhaven Fund that was formed in 2022 and take out new emergency loans in order to cope with the consequences of Corona. This could place further strain on the city’s financial flexibility.

But the measures are not just limited to Bremerhaven. The city of Bremen also has big plans. Loud Bremen news The Senate has now approved the draft supplementary budgets for 2025 and plans to take out a whopping 148 million euros in loans. This is intended to improve the budget situation and has been made possible by a change to the Basic Law and an associated implementing law for the structural component.

Financial challenges

Municipalities are under pressure. Finance Senator Björn Fecker emphasizes that the economic downturn and weak tax revenues represent a significant burden on municipal budgets. Bremen itself is recording increasing spending on social benefits, which has increased by 16 million euros. The costs of education and care are also constantly growing. Changes in tax law at the federal level also burden the state budget with a loss of over 31 million euros.

The overall situation is tense: the country's adjusted income is around 6 billion euros, while expenses are almost as high. The city of Bremen is also not in a rosy situation. With almost 4 billion euros in income and just over 4 billion euros in expenses, the situation is getting worse. An attentive readership knows: It is nothing new that cities have to take out more loans to cover strenuous expenses - a dilemma that will probably continue for some time.

Focus on education and social issues

The supplementary budgets are also designed to cover specific additional needs. Over 60 million euros in budget increases are earmarked for measures in education, social affairs and internal affairs. Among other things, more teachers and civil servants should be provided. The number of police officers should also be increased to ensure the security of the city.

In this context it becomes clear how urgently necessary these financial measures are. It remains to be seen whether the planned steps will be sufficient to overcome the challenges of the coming years. One thing is certain: municipalities not only save on education, they have a good hand when it comes to finding the necessary money for the right thing - even if that means finding themselves in a debt trap.

In the end, the hope remains that, in addition to the loans, new ways will be found to stabilize municipal finances in the long term and to keep an eye on the quality of life of the citizens. After all, that is the be-all and end-all of any good urban development.