Marburg's 2026 Budget Cuts Costs While Protecting Core City Services
Marburg together - Shaping the future
Mayor Spies presents the 2026 budget draft
Mayor Spies presents the 2026 budget draft
**Social assistance, services, childcare, domestic violence protection, culture, and much more: The university town of Marburg can offer its citizens a high standard. However, the financially challenging times for municipalities also affect Marburg. Mayor Dr. Thomas Spies presents a budget draft for 2026 that shows austerity measures - and appeals to all factions to continue to carry Marburg united and together through the crisis.**
© Patricia Grähling, City of Marburg
"The financial situation of municipalities in Germany is dire, The distinction between mandatory tasks and voluntary performances is only partially helpful," said Spies. "Everything we do is a municipal task." 85 percent of expenditures are for so-called mandatory tasks. But voluntary tasks are also tasks - not frills. These include culture, youth promotion, prevention in youth work and the public order office, measures for a lively city center, and 6 million euros in voluntary services in the 2025 budget for good public transport connections. Everything is currently under review - to meet the mandatory requirements and to retain voluntary achievements as well as possible. "There is no mandatory task where consolidation is not possible," explained Spies. But how does the task criticism work? For example, the information of first-year students about proper waste disposal in Marburg. Instead of printed brochures and gummy bears, this will certainly also be done in the future with a QR code and website. Cost: 2,000 euros. Also: the city pays 100,000 euros for an additional tent on the MemoLife, so that local providers and potential customers can network. The tent was removed, support can be provided more cost-effectively. And with the positions? If positions become vacant, it will be checked whether they will be filled again - otherwise, the position will be placed in a pool of positions for unavoidable needs. "We are thus avoiding an expansion of the staff plan and can even reduce positions," said Spies. In the staff plan for 2026, 20 positions will already be reduced, and personnel costs will decrease by at least 600,000 euros. Among other things, green areas will be maintained at larger intervals and the building stock will be reduced. **Improve revenues in a socially acceptable manner** "Even in a crisis, 'Marburg together!' must apply," emphasized Spies in his budget speech. Revenues must be improved - but not at the expense of the weak. The city administration will therefore present a number of proposals to the parliament, including an adjustment of the dog tax, the property tax, the gaming machine tax, and the second home tax. Adjustments to childcare fees and for admission to the AquaMar could also be decided. In total, 7 to 9 million euros could be generated. **Investments with clear priorities** Currently, investments of around 75 million euros are planned in the financial budget. However, the factions have agreed together on Spies' proposal to limit investments to 35 million euros and to establish clear priority rules. The city will therefore present significant changes for the second reading of the budget. The specialist departments are also working on long-term priority lists, in order to - similar to the education construction program BiBaP - to order construction projects according to their urgency and to make planable promises to the citizens. To conclude, Spies advocated for honesty, pragmatism, and solidarity: "We must put many things to the test that other municipalities could never afford." He expressed optimism that this mutual respect and sense of responsibility in the interfractional working group would continue to be lived out, together with all departments and specialist services in the administration, and in close cooperation with stakeholders. Spies ended his speech with the words: "Marburg remains the social heart of Germany. For that, we need solidarity and participation from those who can contribute - so that those who cannot, are not left behind."
