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Magdeburg / Frankfurt / Main (dpa / sa) - According to a study, the municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt have so far come through the Corona crisis financially unexpectedly lightly.
The total debt fell in 2020 compared to the previous year by 3.6 percent to 1143 euros per inhabitant, according to the municipal panel published on Thursday by the state development bank KfW.
It is now below the nationwide average of 1722 euros per inhabitant.
According to KfW, however, there is great concern about the long-term consequences. According to this, 85 percent of the nationwide surveyed municipalities expect lower income due to the crisis in 2021 and beyond, 52 percent also expect higher expenditure. "Long-Covid threatens municipal finances," said KfW chief economist Fritzi Köhler-Geib.
The economist fears that as a result, municipalities will have to shut down their investments in schools, roads, climate protection and digitization.
Despite the recent increase in investment spending, the level is already often insufficient to maintain the existing infrastructure.
According to the study, the perceived investment backlog rose nationwide to a total of 149 billion euros last year.
This is two billion more than in the previous year.
School buildings (46.5 billion), roads (33.6 billion) and administrative buildings (16.4 billion.)
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In the crisis year 2020, the support from the federal and state governments - in particular the reimbursement of business tax losses - prevented a massive budget deficit in the municipalities, according to the information.
Cities, municipalities and districts were able to close the year with a small surplus.
However, since some of the consequences of the crisis only take effect after a delay, there is a risk, according to the study, of rising budget deficits and growing local government debt.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210506-99-489099 / 2