Dresden wants to slightly reduce its growing budget deficit in the current year with a supplementary budget that provides for savings measures worth millions and postponed investments. The background to this are new forecasts from an interim financial report last year, according to which the budget result for 2026 is likely to be 144 million euros worse than previously planned. The reasons for this include further rising costs due to mandatory municipal tasks in social and youth welfare. At the same time, the city is expecting lower revenue due to the weak economy.
The draft, which will first be discussed by the finance committee on Tuesday and then by the city council at the end of April, envisages savings of 38.3 million euros. Only voluntary services are affected, it continues. This reduces the expected deficit in 2026 to around 123.9 million euros - a balanced budget is therefore still a long way off.
Mayor Dirk Hilbert (FDP) speaks of "deep red figures". "The structural imbalance in municipal financing, which has also been lamented by the German Association of Cities for months, cannot be countered with the funds available to us." For the future, the city is therefore expecting further necessary savings measures and a "review of the structures of municipal services".
