German county associations are urging the federal government to provide financial relief to local authorities, citing a growing budget crisis. In a letter to Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, reported by the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, leaders of the German County Association (Deutscher Landkreistag) express deep concern over the financial strain facing cities and counties.
Presidents Achim Brötel and Managing Director Hans-Günter Henneke state that municipalities are facing unprecedented financial hardship, projecting a combined deficit of 35 billion euros for the current year. They emphasize that state-level support is insufficient and direct federal intervention is needed.
The letter, delivered as municipalities begin their budget planning, highlights the potential for increased public dissatisfaction in the face of continued financial constraints and warns of possible exploitation of the situation by anti-democratic forces. A significant driver of the deficit is attributed to rising costs within the social welfare system.
The county association is requesting a continuation of federal funding – similar to that provided between 2015 and 2021 to cover accommodation and heating costs for refugees – to alleviate the immediate pressure. Municipalities spent 3.41 billion euros on these costs in 2024.
The association also advocates for a shift of all Ukrainian refugees from receiving citizen’s benefit (Bürgergeld) to benefits under asylum seeker legislation, a move which – as stipulated in the governing coalition agreement – would transfer approximately 1.375 billion euros in costs from the Länder and municipalities to the federal government.
Brötel and Henneke further argue that municipalities bear a disproportionate share of public spending compared to their share of public revenue, receiving roughly one-seventh of public tax revenue while being responsible for more than one-quarter of public expenditure, necessitating a substantial increase in their financial resources even under normal circumstances.