Local authorities in Offenbach are under financial strain and are advocating for a hike in municipal taxes to balance their budgets.
The Offenbach District has presented its draft budget for 2025, revealing a tight financial situation. With planned revenues of 971.2 million euros and expenditures of 968.5 million euros, the budget approaches the billion-euro mark, resulting in a small surplus of 2.7 million euros.
However, the budget deficit stands at 195.7 million euros due to high costs for transfer payments and lower revenues. To maintain financial capacity, the district is demanding higher umlages from cities and municipalities, with the district umlage increasing to 41.35 percentage points.
Municipalities in the Offenbach district will have to pay higher umlages, with the overall umlages increasing from 54.99 to 58.49 percentage points. The Offenbach District is urgently appealing to the federal and state governments for more support due to financial constraints.
The district is planning to take on new loans totaling 106.6 million euros to cover investments, especially for school construction projects. Despite these financial pressures, the Offenbach district continues to invest in education, social services, and public transportation.
The Offenbach District Transport Company (kvgOF) receives 19.8 million euros for public transportation, including the comprehensive Hopper offer. The budget is approximately 700 pages long.
Carsten Müller, from the Offenbach district, emphasizes that permanent underfunding can no longer be covered by austerity measures. He demands that the federal and state governments provide municipalities with the necessary financial resources.
The budget earmarks 139 million euros for school operations, while 94.6 million euros are planned for school expansion. The district also allocates 76.8 million euros for support for education.
In the social sector, expenditures are significantly increasing. Costs of integration assistance under the SGB IX are rising by 75 percent in six years. The number of cases in youth welfare has increased rapidly, from 1,398 in 2020 to 1,848 in 2023.
Despite the financial challenges, the Offenbach district remains active in economic development. For instance, the expansion of BioSpring's high-tech pharmaceutical manufacturing facility is seen as strengthening the region and creating jobs. There is also activity in the commercial real estate market, including sales in Offenbach’s Kaiserlei district.
However, these economic developments do not directly address the financial pressures or municipal budget issues faced by the Offenbach district in 2025. For a definitive answer, official municipal financial reports or news specific to Offenbach's fiscal situation would be required.
The Offenbach District is seeking more support from the federal and state governments due to its tight finance situation, as indicated by the large budget deficit and the need for new loans for investments. The district's urgent appeal is driven by increased costs for transfer payments and lower revenues, which have resulted in a budget deficit of 195.7 million euros. Additionally, the district is facing financial pressures in the social sector, with costs of integration assistance and youth welfare cases on the rise.
