Overview
- The Bavarian Landtag's Haushaltsausschuss agreed Thursday to assume a €10.5 million Kassenkredit and approve an additional €1.5 million, making the state the municipality's short-term creditor to avert an immediate cash crunch.
- Bad Alexandersbad carries roughly €25 million in total debt despite about 920 residents, and the municipality pays about €400,000 a year in interest on its cash loans, a heavy ongoing burden.
- The town's losses trace largely to the 2017 Alexbad thermal project, a roughly €14 million, state-supported spa that has continued to run at a deficit even after operation moved to a non-profit foundation about 18 months ago.
- Local finances have been fragile for years: Upper Franconia's government says Bad Alexandersbad has not had an approvable budget since 2014, and banks recently refused to renew Kassenkredite, creating the immediate risk of missed payments under a legal framework that bars municipal insolvency proceedings.
- The rescue is explicitly conditional: deep savings measures will be enforced, the state has reserved the option of forced incorporation if targets are missed or solvency is not restored by the multi-year horizon, and officials say the case will serve as a test for how Bavaria responds to other strapped municipalities.