States call for measures to relieve the burden on local authorities

The heads of state governments are calling on the federal government to take measures to relieve the burden on local authorities. A record financial deficit of 13.2 billion euros is predicted for the municipal level this year, according to a resolution passed by the conference of state premiers in Leipzig. Expenditure on social benefits has doubled since 2005 and the high number of refugees is also placing a heavy burden on local authorities. The federal states could not absorb this due to their own tight budget situation.

The heads of government called for the federal level to take a closer look at the situation in the municipalities when enacting laws and to analyze the financial and personnel implications more closely. Laws should also no longer be passed in a fast-track procedure, as has often been the case recently. Tasks that are transferred from the federal government to the municipalities must "always be accompanied by full and permanent compensation" for the additional burdens associated with them. In addition, funding legislation must be simplified and made less bureaucratic.