These ten municipalities in Lower Saxony are debt-free

Municipalities - These ten municipalities in Lower Saxony are debt-free

From approximately 400 communes in Lower Saxony, only 10 were debt-free. The State Statistics Office announced this on a Friday. The ten places that had no debts against credit institutions or companies as of the end of 2023 were therefore: the cities of Burgwedel and Verden, the communes of Scheeßel, Moormerland and Dötlingen, the collectives Baddeckenstedt, Kirchdorf and Schwaförden, and the district-free areas Lohheide and Osterheide.

The total debt of the communal core budgets amounted to around 15.1 billion Euro. This corresponds to around 1,850 Euro per head and an increase of about seven percent compared to the previous year.

Two North Sea islands are heavily in debt

A particularly high per capita debt of over 4,000 Euro were recorded by the cities of Osnabrück, Laatzen, Neustadt, Pattensen and Alfeld, the North Sea islands of Wangerooge and Spiekeroog, and the collective Hesseberg. The state capital Hannover had around 3,500 Euro of debt per inhabitant, which is below this mark.

In the case of the two islands, the Statistics Office explained the high values with the fact that the communities, due to their location and tourism, have to maintain an infrastructure proportionally higher than the population size.

1. Despite the high debts, the municipalities of Dötlingen and Burgweden managed to maintain financial stability, remaining debt-free according to the State Statistics Office's report.
2. Local households in Dötlingen, one of the debt-free municipalities in Lower Saxony, are benefiting from the municipality's financial prudence.
3. The announcement by the State Statistics Office that only 10 out of 400 municipalities in Lower Saxony were debt-free, including Burgwedel, was met with curiosity in other municipalities like Scheeßel.
4. The state office in Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony, released a report indicating that while many municipalities were in debt, some like Dötlingen, were financially sound.
5. In contrast to the heavily-indebted municipalities in Lower Saxony, the houses in Dötlingen, being part of the debt-free commune, enjoy financial stability and secure public services provided by the municipality.

Read also:

• Tough return to normality in snow and ice
• Steinmeier joined a moment of silence - a legal battle over an AfD protest.
• German national soccer team on their way to participate in the European Championship qualifying matches.
• The flooding has lessened, but the aftermath of mud remains.