Cities, municipalities and districts have caught up in completing an important task - nevertheless, many annual financial statements from the past few years are still not available.
Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - Saxony-Anhalt's municipalities are still lagging behind in their annual financial statements. As the Ministry of the Interior reported on request, more than half of all annual financial statements planned since 2013 are still open. Of a total of 1983 certificates, 899 have been drawn up so far, and in 1084 cases the local authorities have not yet complied with this obligation.
Compared to a survey at the beginning of the year, however, the municipalities have caught up. While only 37 percent of the annual financial statements due had been prepared on December 31, 2021, this proportion has now risen to 45 percent. In particular, through the use of approved simplifications, many municipalities would process several annual financial statements at the same time and hand them over for examination in one package, said a spokesman.
In the past, Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang (CDU) had demanded more speed from cities, municipalities and districts. Reducing the backlog "must be given priority at all levels," she said in February.
Since 2013, the municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt have been obliged to prepare their budgets according to a new system. For the so-called double budget management, an opening balance must be drawn up, which is updated annually. In this context, annual financial statements are to be submitted.
Local government finances have been disputed in Saxony-Anhalt for many years. The municipalities complain that the allocations from the state are not sufficient. For the years 2022 and 2023, the state is making 1.735 billion euros available as part of the financial equalization. The municipal umbrella organizations consider the balancing mass to be too low overall. The Association of Towns and Municipalities put the total requirement at at least 1.9 billion euros.
However, the demand for more money has recently met with criticism in the state parliament. The municipalities could only prove their need if proper annual accounts were available, several MPs complained.
With an expert report, the Ministry of Finance wants to clarify whether the funds from the state are distributed fairly to the districts, cities and municipalities. The results should be available by the end of the year.
