Criticism of the Göppingen district council: austerity measures endanger social services!

Criticism of the Göppingen district council: austerity measures endanger social services!

In the Göppingen district council, criticism of the administration's planned savings is becoming increasingly louder. The cuts are seen as particularly worrying in the social sector. According to the Stuttgarter Nachrichten, the CDU, Free Voters (FW) and FDP have submitted a joint application to reduce the savings. In view of the impending cuts, four city leaders warned of the negative consequences in an incendiary letter.

The aim of these factions is to support District Administrator Markus Möller's (CDU) consolidation course while maintaining voluntary advisory services. The proposals include reducing funding for school social work to 50% instead of completely eliminating it. The continuation of school social work at district schools and SBBZ should also be guaranteed.

Cuts and their consequences

The savings proposals also include a 20 percent reduction in subsidies for drug and addiction counseling as well as marriage and parenting counseling. The subsidy for pregnancy conflict counseling by Pro Familia should also be reduced to 15,000 euros instead of being eliminated completely. The financing of these measures should be secured through reserves in order to keep the district levy stable at 36.0%.

SPD parliamentary group leader Benjamin Christian is critical of the proposals and describes them as inadequate, but also recognizes progress. The Greens, for their part, are calling for the planned cuts to be stopped and are proposing a moderate increase in the district levy. According to co-group leader Sabine Daunderer, the savings in the social sector amount to around 3.5 million euros.

A central problem remains the fair financing of school social work, as currently only the municipality in which a school is located is supposed to bear the costs. This problem is also discussed against the background of the current budget crisis in the Göppingen district, which became clear in a presentation of the draft budget for 2026 by District Administrator Möller and District Treasurer Jochen Haas. The planned expenditure amounts to 454.6 million euros, with a deficit of over 800,000 euros, which is to be partially offset by withdrawals from the earnings reserve.

Financial challenges

In order to reduce the burden on citizens and municipalities, 88 savings proposals were formulated that are intended to reduce the burden on the district budget by around 15.7 million euros. However, there are concerns that the planned savings in areas such as school social work, open child and youth work and the closure of all family meetings will significantly affect the social infrastructure in the district. In addition, savings in local public transport could also burden users.

The per capita debt in the district currently amounts to 1,096 euros, which is almost twice as high as the average in Baden-Württemberg. The financing of unfunded social benefits and the deficits in the clinics also remain a central problem. For example, a deficit of 10.2 million euros is forecast for Alb-Fils-Klinikum in 2026, which cannot be completely offset.

The adoption of the budget has been scheduled for December 12th. Future financial policy depends heavily on the willingness of municipalities to face the challenges. In the meantime, political actors and citizens are increasingly concerned about the measures adopted and their potential influence on the social fabric in the district, as reported by Spiegel.