It’s like a godsend in dark times. The district of Munich will receive a refund of seven million euros for 2021 from the Munich Transport and Tariff Association (MVV). And the district can use this windfall in view of the challenges posed by the accommodation and integration of Ukrainian refugees. In other words: the money is in the supplementary budget that the district council approved on Monday afternoon, the welcome cash injection to cushion additional costs.
Nevertheless, the district will face additional costs in the millions in order to be able to deal with the consequences of the war in Ukraine on the spot – and it also needs more staff, shifts within the authority would not be enough, district treasurer Markus Kasper made clear. With a large majority, the district councilors approved the creation of numerous new positions in the district office: 30 will be brought together in a so-called pool in order to be able to react specifically to increasing workloads, for example in the immigration authorities or in the youth welfare office. there are also ten positions for interpreters and one doctor. Everything is initially limited to two years. And the reserve for temporary work will also be increased. The administrative budget will therefore be expanded by 17 million euros.
And the district will have to make advance payments, especially for the accommodation of Ukrainians seeking protection, for which 24 million euros are estimated for this year. However, this money will be reimbursed to the district as well as the expenses for social services by the Free State. Kasper assumes additional expenditure of around twelve million euros in the area of social affairs alone. “More cases means spending needs to be adjusted,” he said.
All of this should be shouldered without new debts, thanks to the windfall from local public transport. According to Kasper, the credit authorization in the amount of 80 million euros will be sufficient. And the municipalities do not have to expect additional burdens either, the district levy, with which the payments from the cities and municipalities to the district are regulated, remains untouched at a rate of 48. This should please the mayors, on whom a large part of the tasks will be assigned to the integration of the people.