Financial adjustment plan during economic turmoil
Mannheim Future Budget: A Comprehensive Plan to Address Financial Challenges
In an effort to address the city's financial crisis, the greatest since the founding of the Federal Republic, Mayor Christian Specht has presented a comprehensive budget consolidation program called Mannheim Future Budget (MZH).
The MZH aims to save around 228 million euros by the end of 2028. To achieve this, each department in Mannheim will permanently save three percent of its annual expenditures or increase its revenues from 2026 onwards.
One of the affected departments is the Council Affairs, Personnel, Representation, where personnel costs are planned to be reduced. The city parks will also see changes, with cuts in the service range and offers necessary to maintain them as places of relaxation, meeting, and nature experience.
The city-wide printer concept will be adjusted to reduce the number of devices needed in the IT department, and external service contracts for landline telephony will be replaced with "Voice-over-IP", saving around 415,000 euros annually.
In the education sector, the smallest school in Mannheim, the Special Pedagogical Education and Counseling Center (SBBZ) Albrecht-Dürer, with only around 20 children, will be closed. However, the city council has approved additional expenses of over 17.5 million euros for current kindergarten operations, enabling the launch of up to 1,000 newly created kindergarten and nursery places.
The cost coverage rate for care and catering fees in kindergartens will be gradually increased and aligned with the level of free charitable providers. The voluntary fee reduction in the kindergarten area, which has been in effect since September 2019 and currently amounts to 105 euros, is set to be abolished, saving approximately 3 million euros per year.
The municipal enterprise Stadtraumservice must submit a balanced economic plan for 2026 to prevent the existing deficit from growing further, leading to performance reductions in all areas of the municipal enterprise. The short-distance ticket subsidized by municipal funds for up to four stops will no longer be available in public transportation.
The environmental prize will be awarded every two years in the future, and all fees of the Department of Climate, Nature, Environment (e.g. for water law permits or orders for the investigation of old sites) will be reviewed and adjusted by January 1, 2026.
The state government of Karlsruhe has approved a double budget for 2025/26 and a financial plan until the end of 2028, but only on the condition that the city presents a concept to improve its liquidity by around 125 million euros by 2028. This results in savings of around 30 million euros in the education, youth, and health sectors.
The city of Mannheim expects a liquidity deficit of around 603 million euros by the end of 2028. Despite these challenging financial times, the city remains committed to providing essential services and improving its financial situation to ensure a prosperous future for its residents.
