The financial crisis facing municipalities in North Rhine‑Westphalia has worsened dramatically within a year. According to the latest financial statements, the budget deficit of the municipalities rose to €9.4 billion last year, said Marc Herter, mayor of Hamm and chairman of the Städtetag NRW, in an interview with the WAZ Monday edition. “That’s an increase of 37.5 percent compared with 2024” Herter added, noting that it is already “too late”.
Municipal budgets are said to be “in free fall”. Herter urged the state government to lift the so‑called collective contribution rate for municipalities under the Municipal Financing Act to 28 percent. “The state has consistently run surpluses in recent years, so it could channel an additional €3.6 billion to the municipalities and thereby make a fair contribution to the municipal workload” he told the WAZ.
The cities are demanding an annual emergency aid of €30 billion from the federal government, a figure that roughly matches the combined deficits of all cities, municipalities and districts. They propose financing this through an increased share of municipalities in the national VAT receipts. “Municipal budgets in NRW are especially strained by the many tasks handed down by the federal and state governments without adequate funding” Herter criticized.
