The Rhineland-Palatinate State Supervisory Authority has approved the 2026 budget of the state capital, Mainz, in principle. The city administration’s Supervisory and Service Directorate (ADD) announced this in a formal notice on April 21.

Mayor Nino Haase and Deputy Mayor and Finance Director Daniel Köbler view this as a success for the city’s consolidation efforts: “The fact that the city was able to present a budget eligible for approval to the local government oversight authority is the result of a joint effort by politicians and administrators. It sends a clear signal to citizens and staff that the city has made the right decisions and has therefore remained capable of acting. However, the persistently high deficit shows that there is still a long way to go toward budget consolidation.”

Specifically, the local government oversight authority decided:

1. The budget ordinance was approved in principle for the 2026 fiscal year.
2. The budget plan for the 2026 fiscal year was approved in principle.
3. The total amount of investment appropriations is approved at 75 million euros. (The city had requested 223 million euros.) Consequently, the total amount of commitment appropriations decreases: 85 million euros were approved. (The request was for 165 million euros.) The ADD has, in principle, indicated the possibility of increasing the amounts if a higher need is foreseeable in the current year.
4. The maximum amount of liquidity loans (cash loans) is approved at 466 million euros. (600 million euros had been requested.) The city administration now considers this approved amount for 2026 to be sufficient.
5. The ADD has raised objections to the medium-term financial plan (for the years 2027, 2028, and 2029). This is consistent with the ADD’s approach in the previous fiscal year.
6. The ADD has not yet made a final decision on the 2026 staffing plan. A decision on this matter is expected from the City of Mainz in the coming weeks.

As in previous years, the ADD does not consider the City of Mainz to have sustainable financial capacity in the foreseeable future. At the same time, the city is not over-indebted, nor is this expected in the coming years—a result of the city’s encouragingly high equity.

The ADD acknowledges the city’s efforts to consolidate the budget and address over-planning in the investment sector, but considers them insufficient. In particular, it notes that the City Council has not complied with its resolution to reduce the planned deficits in the 2026 budget by 20 million euros annually or to implement additional increases in the assessment rates for commercial and property taxes.

The supervisory authority expects the city to intensify its budget consolidation efforts, implement further consolidation measures—preferably sustainable ones—and exhaust all legally permissible revenue options.

In light of the persistently high deficit, Mayor Haase emphasizes: “The city will do whatever it can to consolidate the budget. We have already made this clear in the Budget Consolidation Commission.”

Mayor Köbler also points to the difficult conditions facing municipal finances: “Despite strong economic growth and a favorable labor market, the city of Mainz is also affected by the nationwide financial crisis facing local governments. We now expect the state government to reform the municipal financial equalization system in a way that provides tangible relief to the state capital. At the same time, the federal and state governments must implement fundamental reforms: Germany needs a fair distribution of funds among the federal government, the states, and local governments.”

Mayor Haase also calls on the federal and state governments to implement “fundamental reforms that must include a review of responsibilities, a halt to the expansion of government positions, and efficiency gains at the state level. We, as the City of Mainz, have done our part with a comprehensive consolidation and efficiency package. We expect to see this positive vision of a modern and effective state realized at the federal and state levels as well.”