Overview
- The joint letter, delivered and published on Oct. 28–29, warns of a nationwide risk to municipal solvency and says local capacities are exhausted.
- Stuttgart’s mayor Frank Nopper initiated the appeal and told reporters that municipalities are at their limits, a fact his office confirmed to dpa.
- The signatories demand full compensation in every future federal law that imposes costs on municipalities and restitution for past unfunded mandates, invoking the principle that whoever orders must pay.
- They urge state leaders to approve laws in the Bundesrat only when municipal financing is secured and propose raising the municipal share of VAT or passing other offsetting legislation.
- Municipalities posted a financing deficit of about €24.8 billion in 2024, with rising social expenditures, higher personnel and tariff costs, and underfunded obligations such as the Deutschlandticket and hospital operations identified as key drivers.