Overview

• The draft sets €1.35 billion in expenditures against €1.19 billion in revenues for 2026.
• City leaders propose more than €8.2 million in savings and new income, including a bed tax, higher parking fees, and increased admission prices for municipal pools and museums.
• Subsidy reductions are planned, including cuts for council factions and the Travemünder Woche.
• Mayor Jan Lindenau cites cost pressures from federal and state legal changes and public-sector wage agreements that the city can only partially control.
• The Schleswig-Holstein Association of Cities warns that many municipalities face similar deficits with rising reliance on short-term Kassenkredite and urges reforms to boost communal tax shares and curb social spending growth.