Stuttgart (dpa / lhe) - In view of rising energy prices, Hesse's cities are taking a survey by the auditing company Ernst

More than half of the municipalities in Hesse have also reduced street lighting or intend to do so in the next year. More than four out of ten municipalities are planning to close or have already closed underused offices. In local public transport, on the other hand, cutbacks should not be made: None of the municipalities surveyed are planning cuts in public transport this year or next - in Germany, however, this is eleven percent.

Although almost a third of the municipalities want to raise the property or trade tax, according to the information, almost every third city expects their total debt to increase in the next three years. EY division manager Sven-Joachim Otto criticized the short-term nature of the individual actions. "Saving energy by lowering the room temperature and switching off the street lights is one thing. But efficiency measures that reduce energy consumption in the long term or use sustainable energy sources are much more important," he said. The current measures are "completely inadequate".

27 of 59 Hessian cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants were surveyed for the random sample collected in October and November.