- Ex-protection screen: Municipalities not yet in compliance
More than 30 former municipalities in Hessen that were part of the protective shield program are still under the financial supervision of the government presidiums. This was confirmed by the authorities in Darmstadt, Gießen, and Kassel upon request from the German Press Agency. The protective shield program, which ended with 3.2 billion euros provided by the state, aimed to help 100 particularly consolidation-needing cities, municipalities, and districts achieve balanced budgets. This also transferred the supervision of smaller municipalities to the government presidiums, requiring them to take drastic measures.
Closures or maintenance backlog
After the end of the protective shield program, the state drew a positive balance in 2020. However, this meant significant cuts for some municipalities. "Yes, there have been," said Philip Flick (CDU), deputy mayor of Sinn in the Lahn-Dill district. Voluntary services were cut through the program. Now, there are no longer any city-owned facilities where celebrations can be held. New rooms will have to be invested in because there have been no maintenance works for ten years. "Things have been delayed in recent years." Staff has also been reduced.
The last audited budget of 2019 is now balanced, and the city is back under the financial supervision of the district. The fact that more than 30 cities are still under the financial supervision of the government presidiums is also a result of the speed of the annual audits, according to Flick. In Egelsbach, a municipality in southern Hesse that was recently transferred from the government presidium of Darmstadt to the financial supervision of the Offenbach district, the public pool and a meeting place had to be closed.
"We still don't have a balanced budget," said Marcus Dittrich (independent), mayor of Bad Karlshafen in the Kassel district. This year it's going well, but next year it will probably slip back into the red. Three consecutive balanced budgets are required to be released from the financial supervision of the government presidium. In the city, efforts to consolidate have led to the reduction of youth work, the library, the number of committees, and staff. Public buildings have also been sold.
Why financial supervision?
According to the Hessian Municipal Code, municipalities must plan and manage their budgets in such a way that the fulfillment of their tasks is secured. There is a three-tiered supervision structure for this. The district offices are responsible for the supervision of municipalities with up to 50,000 inhabitants, the government presidiums for larger cities and the independent cities of Darmstadt, Kassel, and Offenbach. The Ministry of the Interior supervises Wiesbaden and Frankfurt and is also the highest supervisory authority.
The continued financial supervision of more than 30 municipalities in Hessen is due in part to the lengthy annual audits, as mentioned by Philip Flick. The need for financial supervision is also attributed to the Hessian Municipal Code, which requires municipalities to manage their budgets responsibly to ensure task fulfillment.
