Hamm is facing a financial crisis: there is a threat of a 79 million euro deficit!

Hamm is facing a financial crisis: there is a threat of a 79 million euro deficit!

The city of Hamm is facing a tough financial challenge. As the WAZ reported, a deficit of 79 million euros is expected for 2025. The main cause of this emerging financial crisis is the continuously increasing social spending, which is putting a heavy burden on the city's coffers.

For 2025, Hamm is planning revenues of 940 million euros, while expenses are estimated at 1.019 billion euros. In order to compensate for the loss, the city would have to fall back on reserves. Last year, a similar deficit could only be averted thanks to higher trade tax revenue, which underlines the uncertainty of the budget situation.

What's next?

The financial outlook is bleak, as the city expects deficits of 60, 50 and almost 40 million euros for the years 2026 to 2028. Rising social spending, personnel costs and price increases in the construction sector are particularly problematic. The city's total debt was already at 273 million euros in 2024, and fortunately, although investment loans are declining slightly, liquidity loans have more than doubled from 51 to 112 million euros.

The budget situation of many cities in North Rhine-Westphalia is also a major problem, as, according to the Association of Cities and Municipalities, three quarters of municipalities assess their situation as inadequate. This means that similar difficulties have to be overcome in many places, which could endanger the future infrastructure and social services in the Hamm area too.

A look outside the box

The question remains of how other communities deal with similar challenges. Perhaps innovative approaches to social services or more efficient administrative processes can help overcome supply-side challenges. There is still a lot of potential for cost reduction and optimization in the digital sector, for example through investments in network security and the use of appropriate applications, such as the Windows Firewall, which can ensure secure handling of digital challenges. This technology not only protects against unauthorized access, but also helps filter network traffic efficiently.

For the city of Hamm it is now important to have a good hand in budget planning. Without a sustainable strategy, it will be difficult to get out of this financial situation. The coming months will be crucial to ensure that Hamm remains able to act in the future. It remains to be hoped that new ideas and measures will be found to set the course for financial stability.