Municipal finances City of St. Gallen budgets a deficit for 2025
The St. Gallen City Council has submitted a budget with a deficit of CHF 27 million to parliament for 2025. New measures in the existing performance review program should bring further savings.
25.09.2024, 11:34
SDA
The budget shows expenses of CHF 639 million and income of CHF 588 million, the City of St. Gallen announced on Wednesday. This results in a "very high negative operating result" of 51 million francs. Thanks to a positive financial result of 24 million francs, this deficit could be reduced to 27 million francs.
The city's increased expenditure had various causes: rising pupil numbers, higher demand for daycare, increasing maintenance requirements for the city's properties, higher care financing costs, additional expenses for maintenance, planning and construction, as well as inflation.
Decline in tax revenue
However, tax revenue from natural persons would fall by two million francs compared to 2023. This reflects the reduction in the tax rate by three percentage points in 2024 and the inflation-related compensation for cold progression introduced by the canton. Revenue from legal entities would be three million francs lower. Other direct tax revenue would fall by an additional five million francs.
According to the press release, the rising expenditure and falling revenues are putting great pressure on the city's finances. The "fokus25" performance review program is far from being able to compensate for the rising expenditure, but is gaining urgency in view of the high budgeted deficit. According to the press release, new fokus25 measures amounting to CHF 6.8 million have been decided for 2025.
