Overview
- Mayors from the 13 state capitals warn that the gap between municipal revenues and expenditures is widening due to structural underfunding.
- Their letter cites unfunded task transfers as a core problem, arguing that new responsibilities arrive without matching financial compensation.
- They identify rising social assistance, child and youth services, integration aid, and tariff-driven personnel costs as the main budget drivers.
- Municipal leaders also report shortfalls in funding for hospital operations and for public transport obligations tied to the Deutschlandticket.
- Rhineland-Palatinate’s Alexander Schweitzer backs the appeal, urging full federal compensation, better and more transparent cost estimates with regular evaluations, and he expects results at the Chancellor’s meeting with state leaders in December, though no federal commitments have been announced.