Budget of the City of Wolfsburg

The current budget

Part 1: The plan

Budget statutes
Financial plan
Preliminary report
Net control operations

Administrative draft for the 2025/2026 double budget - Part 1 - the plan

Part 2: Table section

Sub-budgets with investment program

Administrative draft for the 2025/2026 double budget - Part 2 - Table section

Investments and key figures

Key figures 2023
Key figure profiles

Administrative draft for the 2025/2026 double budget - Annex - Key figures

Development of the budget situation in recent years

Very high revenues

After the economically difficult situation from 2008 to 2010, the local economy is prospering again. Wolfsburg is becoming the most dynamic city in Germany and has to cope with the growing population and the demands of an international business location. Thanks to high trade tax revenues, there are record budgets (for example, in 2014: 474 million euros), which include important investments, for example, in residential areas, traffic routes, daycare centers, schools and recreational facilities. In addition, reserves can be built up for bad times. The city is one of only a few debt-free municipalities in Germany. However, the high investments can hardly be worked off in the short time available.

Trade tax shortfall

As early as 2014, there were indications that the level of trade tax revenue would not be sustained. In September 2015, it became known that Wolfsburg would have to manage with significantly lower trade taxes in the medium term. The city reacts immediately with a hiring freeze and budget freeze to await further developments.

Austerity budgets

Wolfsburg must save: Running costs are being cut, investments that are not urgently needed are being scaled back or postponed to the future program. Despite lower revenues, the city is also positioning itself for the future: It will continue to invest in important areas such as education, housing, mobility and digitization. (Construction) projects that have been started will be pursued further. New laws mean that the city has to implement additional tasks. Budget deficits can still be offset by financial reserves from previous years.

Reserves depleted

Improvement is not yet in sight, the 2019 budget is planned with a deficit for the fifth year in a row. Savings have been depleted, the city is partly living on credit or can only theoretically balance the deficits (via the overall balance sheet). Structures, tasks and processes are to be put to the test, as the city will have to manage with less money in the future.

Budget optimization

In addition to the internal savings efforts, the external analysis shows where further savings potential lies. One thing is clear: the savings will bring about many changes that will be felt directly by everyone in the city. Investments in the city's future viability will be maintained (childcare, expansion/remodeling of schools, housing offensive, mobility, digitization, security).

Sustainably well positioned

In the second step, the city administration intends to modernize itself from 2020. Modern forms of organization and the opportunities offered by digitization will make the city administration even more citizen-friendly and efficient. This will enable the city to remain a top business location with a high quality of life, dynamism and excellent opportunities for the future, even with less revenue.

Current financial position

Development of the ordinary result

Development of payments for investments

Development of debt for investments

Development of material taxes and benefits

Diagram of significant taxes and benefits

Investment program by focus areas

Citizen suggestions

The suggestions made by citizens for optimizing the budget of the city of Wolfsburg were published anonymously. This enabled them to be included in the political discussion in time for the start of the budget deliberations. The citizens' ideas could be submitted until the beginning of January. A total of 61 suggestions were recorded in writing, by telephone, by e-mail, at the "Talking to Mohrs" event and via the Stadtjugendring (City Youth Council), which were accompanied by comments. The list of suggestions is now available for download here.

"The participation of our citizenry is very important to us. Therefore, it was always out of the question for us to also involve the citizens of Wolfsburg on the important topic of budget optimization and to ask them to submit savings proposals. We would therefore like to thank all citizens for their commitment," said City Councilor Iris Bothe.

Citizens' savings proposals for budget optimization in the city of Wolfsburg

Budget brochure

How has the municipal budget developed in recent years?

Archive

How does the budget optimization process work?

On March 28, 2019, the Council decided to commission the Kommunale Gemeinschaftsstelle für Verwaltungsmanagement (KGSt), based on its expertise from other municipalities, to put structures, tasks and processes to the test with an external view. It was to highlight where there was potential for savings over and above what had already been achieved. These were presented to the public for the first time at the end of November. The joint task of the city administration and politicians was to discuss them by the spring of 2020 and finally select from the proposals received those to be implemented. In 2020, 10 to 15 million euros must be saved, followed by a further 10 to 25 million euros, so that a total annual savings volume of 25 to 30 million euros must be achieved.

The process

Schaubild des Prozessablaufs

The KGSt overall proposal list

KGSt-Vorschlagsliste

At the end of September 2019, KGSt presented the City of Wolfsburg with an overall list of proposals for the budget optimization process and initial ideas for administrative modernization.

The KGSt overall proposal package

The management package

The KGSt's overall list of proposals was discussed by the administrative board, consisting of the mayor and the five department heads, according to the following criteria:

Effect on the budget
Economic responsibility and optimized processes
balanced distribution
Feedback to the business units
Consideration of long-term consequences on
- future of the city
- City as an attractive employer

The administrative package is the result.

Verwaltungspaket

In the course of budget optimization, KGSt identified initial potential for administrative modernization. This is summarized in the list "Interim status of administrative modernization".

Citizen participation

Citizens can send their ideas and suggestions by e-mail to mitwirkung@stadt.wolfsburg.de. Suggestions will be collected until the introduction of the council bill at the beginning of January 2020 and then checked for feasibility and, if necessary, introduced into the political process. The citizens' suggestions will be published on the municipal website wolfsburg.de from the end of January. Until the planned budget adoption at the end of March 2020, citizens can also contact their elected council representatives and make their views known. The optimization of the budget will not be completed with the council's decision at the end of March, but will have to be an ongoing process so that citizens' suggestions continue to flow in.

Advice to political bodies

Analogous to the budget discussion, the package of proposals of the administration was brought to the council meeting on 08.01.2020 with a presentation to the council. In January 2020, KGSt presented the results of the analysis of the municipal subsidiaries. This was followed by the specialist committee consultation. On 24.03.2020, the optimization package was adopted by the Council with the 2020/2021 double budget.

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