With the passage of the supplemental budget, the state capital of Dresden has lifted its budget freeze. The five political groups—CDU, FDP/Freie Bürger, Greens, SPD, and PVP (Pirates, Volt, Die Partei), as well as Mayor Dirk Hilbert (FDP), voted in favor of the draft on Thursday evening. The vote was close, with 37 in favor and 33 against.
With the supplemental budget, the city is reducing its growing budget shortfall for the current year. It provides for cost-cutting measures amounting to millions and postponed investments.
The background to this is the forecast for the 2026 budget outcome, which, according to the city, is 157 million euros worse than originally planned. The shortfall stems, among other things, from rising costs in social and youth services. At the same time, the city expects lower revenues due to the weak economy.
Savings totaling 38.3 million euros have been approved. The deficit has thus narrowed, but is far from being closed. Despite all reasonable efforts, it has not been possible to balance the budget, according to the mayor’s proposal. The reason, in addition to lower tax revenues—as predicted by the May estimate—is that the majority of the rising costs stem from mandatory expenditures. Cost-cutting measures are not possible in this area.
