Wiesbaden (dpa/lhe) - Five Hessian municipalities are suing the state court against the state's home allocation. The cities and the community feel that the law on the "Strong Homeland Hesse" program violates their right to local self-government, which is guaranteed in the Hessian constitution.
The oral hearing this Wednesday (11:00 a.m.) in Wiesbaden will deal with the municipal fundamental rights lawsuits of the municipality of Biebergemünd and the cities of Büdingen, Schwalbach am Taunus, Stadtallendorf and the city of Frankfurt. The State Court of Justice has combined both proceedings for a joint hearing.
The homeland contribution has existed in Hesse since 2020 and is used to finance the "Strong Homeland Hesse" program. After the increased trade tax allocation expired at the end of 2019, the municipalities now have around 300 million euros more available per year with the municipal financial equalization program. The municipalities demand that these funds be made available to them without any earmarking. A further 100 million euros remain directly with the municipalities every year.
On the one hand, the funds from the home allocation are earmarked and are used, for example, to strengthen childcare and for administrative staff in schools as well as for digitization and the hospitals in the municipalities. On the other hand, the revenue is used to top up the key mass in municipal financial equalization.
