The city of Frankfurt closed the 2021 budget year with the first positive result in five years.

The minus of 97 million euros estimated in the plan ended up being a plus of 53 million euros.

At the presentation of the 2021 annual financial statements, treasurer Bastian Bergerhoff (Die Grünen) spoke of a “significant relief” for further budget planning.

But you didn't make a structured contribution to the good result.

"There was a lot of luck involved."

Bernhard Biener

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung

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The positive annual result for 2021 is slowing down the reduction in reserves and there is more leeway for the tasks ahead.

The reserve amounted to 390.3 million euros at the end of 2021, 17.6 million euros more than at the beginning of the year.

According to the draft budget for 2022, which envisages a minus of 219.3 million euros for this year and 127 million euros for next year, the reserve would have been used up in 2023.

Now, in 2025, when the budget is supposed to be balanced again, it could still contain 25 million euros.

More sales tax

There is therefore the prospect of being able to present budgets that can be approved in the next few years.

That is why, according to Bergerhoff, the budget security concept will be “simpler, but not obsolete”.

Because the timing of the budget is crucial.

The late date of the current budget deliberations is an exception: "Usually in autumn you don't know what the annual result will be like." At least no additional savings are necessary beyond the consolidation contributions contained in the 2022 budget draft.

The most important reason for the positive result in 2021 was the trade tax, which totaled almost 2.1 billion euros, 95 million euros more than planned.

Although the companies still felt the burden of the corona pandemic in 2021, the trade tax rose again, according to the chamberlain.

“That shows how stable the Frankfurt economy is.” Revenue from income tax and sales tax was also above expectations.

Overall, earnings were almost EUR 273 million higher than planned.

The fact that the positive balance is lower shows that expenditure has also increased, to a total of 4.5 billion euros.

Not only the price increases had an effect, which Bergerhoff blamed in part for the 3.3 percent increase in expenditure on goods and services.

The establishment of vaccination centers, mobile vaccination teams and the corona hotline as well as the employment of temporary workers would have caused additional costs in the health sector.

Less debt than planned

Plan and reality diverged particularly widely when it came to investments.

Of the 1.445 billion euros that were available together with carryovers from previous years, only just under 470 million, and thus less than a third, were actually used.

The funds decided by the city council should actually be spent, said Bergerhoff.

Even if that was partly made more difficult by the consequences of Corona and a lack of building materials.

The more favorable figures from the 2021 annual financial statements, but also the lower capital expenditure, are having an impact on the debt level.

Instead of 2.7 billion euros as planned, they amounted to 2.35 billion at the end of last year.

According to the forecast, they will remain below four billion euros by 2025.