In light of the worsening financial crisis affecting local governments, the German Association of Cities (Deutscher Städtetag) is demanding immediate relief of €30 billion within the federal budget for 2027. President Burkhard Jung told the “Rheinische Post” that failure to provide this aid threatens massive cuts to essential public services.
Jung emphasized that the municipal financial crisis is intensifying and urgently requires a response during the Bundestag’s budget deliberations. Without this support, local authorities will become “deeper and deeper” in a spiral of debt. The association president stated that they are being forced to cut services for their citizens and “destructively cut costs” in their operational structures.
Furthermore, Jung warned about the serious long-term consequences of these potential budget cuts. He pointed out that organizations that have been forced to shut down due to lack of funding cannot simply be reorganized or restarted later, even if city budgets eventually receive more money.
