City Council adopts budget for the city of Jena

In its special meeting on Thursday, March 25, 2021, the city council approved the draft of the double budget for 2021/2022. The vote was preceded by an intensive discussion in the city council. With the decision now in place, everyone involved can plan with certainty and services of general interest can be maintained at a very high quality.

Head of Finance Benjamin Koppe thanks the City Council for the constructive discussions: "Over the past few months, we have discussed and wrestled intensively, but in the end we have found a solid compromise that will help us to maintain Jena's stable development. The discussions were always characterized by the greatest possible focus on solutions. I would like to thank all those on the city council who contributed to this."

However, it is important to be aware that the budget is based on an exceptional regulation from the state of Thuringia, which only applies in 2021. Koppe emphasized:

"Our budget problems have remained, only the legal assessment has changed. We are still planning for losses of €11 million in 2021 and €26 million in 2022."

That was decided:

• The city of Jena has a budget. The 2021/22 budget bylaws, which contain the budget, profit plan, financial plan, staffing plan, sub-plans and annexes, were adopted. The entire document can be viewed here: https://sessionnet.jena.de/sessionnet/buergerinfo/vo0050.php?__kvonr=10864&voselect=12440
• The city of Jena is examining further optimizations in the budget structure. Even if the City of Jena does not have to draw up a budget protection concept, it has been instructed to examine further consolidation measures and submit them to the City Council.
• The City of Jena presents a long-term forecast. A forecast for the financial years 2022-25 is to be presented in the 3rd quarter of 2021.
• The City of Jena will update the forecasts for the years 2022-25 in fall 2021.
• Resilience as an integral assessment criterion will be included in future budget planning. Resilience means robustness and a solid risk co-assessment against the consequences of climate crises, pandemics, disasters or other unstable political, economic or social conditions

Mayor Thomas Nitzsche is relieved about the vote on the budget, but also urges caution: "We have managed to present a budget that does not increase taxes or fees. There are also no cuts to subsidies. Cultural, sporting and social life in Jena is financially secure. What remains is consolidation in the city administration itself. However, we must already be aware of this today: If the tasks facing a city grow, but there is consolidation in the administration in the personnel area, there will sometimes have to be restrictions in the service area. However, it is also important that we continue to invest in the future and in the growth of our city."

Details of the adopted budget for Jena

The budget has an annual volume of around 360 million euros. A loss of 11.25 million euros is expected for 2021 and as much as 26.05 million euros for 2022. This is due in particular to the loss of revenue as a result of the coronavirus crisis, but also to unresolved structural problems. The budget can therefore only be approved on the basis of a special legal regulation recently passed by the state parliament, and the task of consolidation will be more challenging in the future than it is today.

The budget includes expenditure for voluntary services of over 27 million euros, which is a share of 7.6%. This puts the city of Jena well above the average level for the state of Thuringia. Many initially planned cuts in the voluntary sector were reversed by the city council. This applies, for example, to student transportation to optional schools, subsidies for independent schools and the budget for civic participation.

The business plans for the municipal real estate, municipal services and Jenakultur companies were approved at the same time as the double budget. Jenakultur will receive a higher subsidy than in previous years in order to be able to operate stably despite the difficult situation in the cultural sector due to coronavirus. In the case of the municipal real estate and municipal services companies, the main focus of the debate was on the investment plans for building construction and civil engineering. The two in-house operations will invest over 87 million euros in 2021, of which 37 million euros will be financed by subsidies. Similar volumes are expected in subsequent years.