Double budget 2025/2026 approved

18.02.2026 Press releases
Municipal supplement to the 2025/2026 double budget approved without restriction
The Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior, Sport and Digitalization (MI) has approved the supplementary budget 2025/2026 of the City of Salzgitter without restriction.

Income and expenses 2023 to 2026

Budget approval 23.04.2025

On April 23, 2025, the city of Salzgitter received official approval for its 2025/2026 double budget from the municipal supervisory authority at the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior and Sport.

This clears the way for urgently needed investments and the consistent continuation of the consolidation course that has been initiated.

Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel welcomes the decision from Hanover:

"Our budget situation remains tense - it is all the more important that the Lower Saxony state government recognizes the seriousness of our budget management and the special and multiple structural challenges in Salzgitter. In addition to the extensive financial aid from the state of Lower Saxony from Salzgitterhilfe, the integration fund and the needs-based allocations, the approval of the double budget for 2025/2026 is another important and correct signal: we can now take full action locally, invest and shape the future - despite all the difficult financial challenges we are facing."

The municipal supervisory authority's positive decision was preceded by intensive preparations: Mayor Frank Klingebiel had already presented the draft of his 2025/2026 double budget to the Salzgitter City Council in September 2024, where it was approved by a broad majority on December 17, 2024 after extensive consultation in the Finance Committee and taking into account amendments. The approval covers both the core budget and the business plans of the city's own companies.

Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel explains: "Investments of around 45 million euros are planned in the core budget for 2025 and around 35.7 million euros for 2026. The city's own buildings, purchasing and logistics company will supplement this with investment measures amounting to 113.8 million euros in 2025 (including budget reserves) and 27.4 million euros in the following year. With our extensive investments, we are focusing on our fire departments, school infrastructure, daycare center buildings, urban development and measures as part of the so-called "Salzgitterhilfe" and the integration fund."

Head of Finance and First City Councillor Eric Neiseke adds: "When drawing up the 2025/2026 double budget, we deliberately set priorities and focused investments on what was necessary. Even though the municipal supervisory authority has imposed a reporting obligation for 2025 for the utilization of 50% of the commitment appropriations for subsequent years, we have sufficient leeway to implement the planned projects."

However, the 2025/2026 double budget is only one component of strategic financial planning. The budget protection concept that was also adopted provides for consolidation contributions totaling over 33 million euros for the years 2025 and 2026. Despite positive developments in the financial years 2022 and 2023 - where significant improvements were achieved - the structural shortfall remains a key challenge.

Mayor Klingebiel makes it clear:

"With its 2025/2026 double budget, the city of Salzgitter is living up to both its socio-political and its fiscal responsibility. However, we will no longer be able to shoulder the increasing burden of new tasks and standards imposed by the federal and state governments in the coming years, both financially and in terms of personnel. We are demanding a task memorandum, a debt relief program and permanently reliable and adequate framework conditions for local authorities from the federal and state governments. This is the only way we can ensure services of general interest in the long term."

The complete 2025/2026 budget will be available for inspection at the Budget and Finance Department in the coming days.

Council resolution (17.12.2024)

Despite the precarious financial situation, the Salzgitter City Council adopted the draft budget, which was submitted for political discussion on September 3, 2024, including the administration's list of changes and a number of amendments proposed by the parliamentary groups. The financial deviations remain manageable in comparison to the budget submitted, but are groundbreaking in terms of content. For example, the parliamentary groups were able to agree on joint funding for "Safe and Clean 2.0".

Introduction to the political consultations (03.09.2024)

The budget presented for discussion is significantly affected by the consequences of the past and current global economic crises. Due to the constantly growing number of mandatory tasks imposed on local authorities by the federal and state governments, a level of costs has been established that has structurally left the revenue side behind. Salzgitter is also heavily reliant on trade tax revenues, which must be estimated to be relatively low in the current planning period due to the burdens from ongoing transformation processes in the local industry. Sufficient compensation from the other general cover funds is not to be expected, so that the revenue deficit will be exacerbated.

As a result, the municipal budget of the city of Salzgitter finds itself in a precarious balance between necessary fiscal consolidation and the responsibility to ensure the highest possible quality of life for its citizens. In view of the tense financial situation, the city is forced to take stringent cost-cutting measures in order to maintain budgetary stability and not further jeopardize its future scope for action.

At the same time, however, it is incumbent on the city to create a lively and liveable environment in which residents can feel comfortable and develop. This balancing act requires a smart and forward-looking budgetary policy that is able to make targeted investments in essential areas such as education, social infrastructure and cultural offerings despite limited resources.

This is the only way to ensure that the quality of life of the population is maintained, while at the same time the city secures its financial capacity to act for future generations.

The Lord Mayor and his management team have made considerable savings in the double budget. However, it is also my responsibility and the responsibility of the Council not to literally "save the city to pieces". First and foremost, a municipality is obliged to maintain the provision of basic services for its residents despite all austerity measures. In addition, the municipal administration is a service provider, whereby the constant increase in tasks requires human resources to cope with. Despite these complex interdependencies, which have only been hinted at, we have succeeded in drawing up a sustainable budget.

The most important income and expenses

Household data

Submission to the Council for political consultation on 03.09.2024

Preparation of a double budget

The administration is presenting a joint budget for the 2025 and 2026 financial years, as the two-year planning has proven successful. No addendum has yet had to be prepared for the 2023/24 dual budget. In accordance with Section 112 (3) sentence 2 NKomVG, the budget bylaws contain separate budgets for two financial years.

Provisional annual financial statements 2023

The provisional annual financial statements for 2023 close with a surplus of € 10,370 thousand, which is € 57,800 thousand better than planned. This positive result is partly due to restrictive management of the planned estimates. Despite individual cuts and lump-sum blocking amounts, total expenses were even minimally undercut (€ 1,900 thousand). However, the majority of the improvement in earnings is attributable to unplanned income. In 2023, for example, the city of Salzgitter received the needs-based allocation for both 2022 and 2023, which means a total improvement of € 18,000 thousand on the planned result. The other increases in income were mainly the result of an audit of a local large corporation and the resulting trade tax back payments including interest (approx. € 23,000 thousand). In addition, there were higher advance payments from the state in the context of SGB IX and XII as well as increases in administrative fees and fines. Especially in times of rising interest rates on loans, this result represents a brief relief of the budgetary situation, but unfortunately not a sustained trend reversal in the budget results. Rather, it confirms that Salzgitter's expenditure is tightly calculated and only fortunate special effects can offset the otherwise structural revenue deficit.

Budget planning 2025/2026

The internal administrative requirements were tightened when planning the 2025/26 double budget. In contrast to the previous plans, a repeat budget was no longer assumed, but a strict orientation towards the accounting results of the last three years was specified. Only necessary and justified deviations were permitted. In addition, as required by the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior and Sport, new budget protection measures were defined. Although the result is still negative, this has led to the introduction of a dual budget for 2025/2026 that is lower than the previous medium-term planning for the 2023/2024 dual budget. The planned new borrowing was massively reduced, particularly in the investment area.

Income budget

The 2025 contribution budget closes with a deficit of € 45,399 thousand in the earnings budget of the core administration. This represents an improvement of € 20,965 thousand compared to the value of the medium-term planning for the 2023/2024 budget, which still assumed a planned deficit of € 66,364 thousand for the 2025 planning year. The planned deficit for 2026 also improved by € 3,354 thousand from € 48,617 thousand to € 45,263 thousand. No budget balance is achieved in the medium term, but no significant further deterioration is forecast either; there will be an overall budget deficit of € 200,047 thousand by the 2029 financial year.

These amounts are expressly based on the exhaustion of all consolidation potential and the inclusion of the newly determined individual measures of the newly created budget protection concept as well as the flat-rate freeze of two percent. In this respect, it can be stated that the budget protection targets cannot be met, but that further budget consolidation is not feasible on our own. The non-disposable expenses are too high, and the social charges and necessary staff increases for transferred tasks weigh too heavily. Even if the refugee costs - for both short-term accommodation and long-term integration - are deducted, as is established in Salzgitter, it is not possible to achieve a surplus or balance the budget. The overall planning deficit will only be reduced to € 100,604 thousand by the 2029 financial year as a result of offsetting. The City of Salzgitter is permanently structurally underfunded due to the increasing transfer of state tasks without independent cost reimbursement. Quo vadis "local self-government?"

Further calculations of crisis-related expenditure are therefore not included here, as the budget deficit in itself makes it clear that the various crisis situations and imposed requirements - without any significant recovery or acclimatization periods - mean long-term burdens for the municipal budget. The demand for direct financial relief from the state and federal government for tasks transferred as part of crisis management remains. It is not enough to show crisis-induced deficits separately in the municipal balance sheet or to make compensation payments in individual years. Only the consistent implementation of the principle of connectivity by offsetting the imposed cost burdens can free municipalities such as Salzgitter from almost hopeless consolidation obligations and free up capacities for municipal self-administration in the interests of their citizens.

Investments

Compared to the old medium-term financial planning of the 2023/24 double budget, the debt in the investment area can be reduced - in particular, the two current planning years will be relieved by shifting the timing due to revised implementation plans; in 2025 only € 16,910 thousand instead of € 26,504 thousand and in 2026 only € 3,497 thousand instead of € 4,492 thousand. Nevertheless, there will be a total net new debt of € 44,253 thousand over the entire planning period, including special loan authorization for the municipal management company of € 51,658 thousand. The main investment volume is shown in the business plan of the building management, purchasing and logistics company.

Cancellation of measures would additionally threaten the implementation of legal obligations and the provision of services of general interest as well as social peace in Salzgitter. In view of this area of tension, no investment measures to safeguard the budget can be deleted. Extending the HSK period by a further two years beyond the medium-term financial plan would not be successful in this respect and should therefore not be undertaken. The situation in the financial years 2030 and 2031 does not appear to be predictable against the backdrop of the changing times of crisis.

Council resolution on 17.12.2024

The administration's lists of changes lead to an improvement of € 2.3 million in the income budget for the planning year 2025 and an improvement of € 2 million in the planning year 2026 compared to the budget submitted.

The administration's list of investment-related changes, which is also recommended for approval, results in a deterioration of € 1,660 thousand for the planning year 2025, but no impact in the planning year 2026.

The effects of the motions submitted by the political groups on the budget of the City of Salzgitter were presented in the voting lists for the respective motions. The positively decided motions ultimately resulted in a total deterioration of around € 1,255 thousand in the income budget for the year 2025 and a deterioration of around € 775 thousand for the year 2026. for investments, there was an additional borrowing requirement of € 390 thousand in 2025 and € 50 thousand in 2026.

Data protection settings

Salzgitter