When it comes to municipal finances, the Zornedingen local politicians are always very precise. Unlike in most other rural districts, there is traditionally a review of the income and expenditure of the past year before the actual budget deliberations – and this year, given the unexpected Ukraine crisis, this is quite interesting and meaningful. The figures not only show how the Russian war of aggression is specifically affecting the municipalities in the district, but also allow initial conclusions to be drawn for the coming years. And these are not necessarily rosy: “It’s not the end of the road yet,” Zorneding’s Mayor Piet Mayr (CSU) is certain.
The statement by the head of the town hall refers above all to the exorbitantly rising energy prices, which are affecting communities as well as private households. This is documented in black and white in several places in the Zornedingen supplementary budget. At the end of the year, each of the items in the figures relating to the energy supply to municipal buildings was significantly higher than was estimated when the budget was drawn up. According to treasurer Gerlinde Ziepl, all discounts have gone up significantly. This development can be seen particularly well in schools: for example, gas procurement costs for the Zorneding elementary school were estimated at 40,000 euros at the beginning of the year, but the actual price is now 98,000 euros. The development is similar for all other institutions, in some cases the actual costs are five times higher than the target value set in the budget.
The mayor is convinced: “It will be even more drastic next year.”
The same applies to the power supply, here too the municipality has to pay much more money than was planned at the beginning of the year. It is a development that does not only affect Zorneding and that will probably continue for some time: “Next year it will be even more drastic,” said Mayor Mayr about the rising energy prices. These are of course a direct result of the war in Ukraine and the resulting shortage of raw materials.
But the conflict also affects other items in the municipal budget, such as the cost of fertilizers. These come from the Ukraine and became a popular commodity after the outbreak of war. The Zornedinger building yard then replenished its stocks, but at that time the prices were already higher, as Commissioner Ziepl now said. It makes perfect sense to build up a certain stock, Mayor Mayr added about the purchase of fertilizers. “It may be that at some point it just doesn’t exist anymore.”
The fact that times were different a year ago can now be seen from the social benefits in the area of refugee aid for Ukrainians. This item did not exist at the beginning of 2022, now it costs almost 27,000 euros. However, Zorneding will get this sum back from the Ebersberg district office, and there are other positive aspects in the figures as well. This is due to the purpose for which the budget was designed a year ago: because the municipality actually wanted to cushion the effects of the corona pandemic with rather conservative financial planning.
The budget should actually be used to cushion the effects of corona
This idea is particularly evident in the income from trade tax, which the Treasury had estimated at 2.9 million euros. In fact, however, the municipality took in around 4.4 million euros from the local companies – which is why the balance in the overall budget is quite decent despite the high energy and raw material prices. However, it quickly became clear to the members of the Zornedinger finance committee that this effect was unlikely to occur again next year. “It’s great, but that’s because we made cautious estimates,” said Franz Lenz (Free Voters) about the surprisingly high income from trade tax. He therefore advocated being more cautious in planning for the coming year.
Mayor Mayr also admitted that the development of municipal finances is “no cause for euphoria”. Above all, because trade tax has always been a sore point in Zorneding’s financial system, or as Siad-Matthias Abdin-Bey (FDP) said: “We are poorly positioned in terms of trade compared to the surrounding municipalities.” Mayr also said that companies in the community would rather migrate than settle here. The hope that the proceeds from trade tax will now also save future households is unlikely to be fulfilled.