District Administrator Achim Hallerbach at Cycling Protest in Mainz: "The Current Situation Is Alarming"
Rhineland-Palatinate leaders bike to protest crippling budget cuts and demand fair funding
Mainz – In a joint cycling protest through the state capital of Mainz on Friday, all 24 district administrators in Rhineland-Palatinate drew attention to the dire financial straits facing local districts. Under the slogan "We're Pedaling Ourselves to Exhaustion!", they rode from the MEWA Arena across Mainz to the government quarter, highlighting how local authorities have been stretched to their limits for years—financially, organizationally, and in terms of personnel.
"The current situation is alarming," warned District Administrator Achim Hallerbach during the event. "Our 2026 budget is only balanced under strict conditions imposed by the Supervisory and Service Directorate (ADD)—and even then, just barely. This cannot go on! We are doing everything we can to maintain schools, daycare centers, and roads in our district. But if the federal and state governments continue to abandon us, we will have no choice but to consider cuts. That is the last thing we want. We need concrete support from Mainz and Berlin!"
The latest forecast for the 2027 district budget paints an even bleaker picture: skyrocketing costs in integration assistance, unchecked rises in child and youth welfare expenses, unreimbursed asylum-related costs, a lack of transparency in public transport funding, no evaluation of the Daycare Act, and relentlessly increasing mandatory expenditures. A budget shortfall running into the millions looms. "We are furious and demand that the new state government finally take communal interests into account," Hallerbach emphasized. "The principle must apply again: who orders, pays." Further draining local municipalities is no longer acceptable.
For the upcoming legislative term, the District Council (Landkreistag) sees three priorities: adequate funding to allow districts to fulfill their core responsibilities, an education policy that both supports and challenges, and accessible local healthcare. Across all sectors, districts face ever-growing tasks, higher standards, and expanding responsibilities—without receiving the necessary resources. They are therefore calling for fair, reliable financing, clear responsibilities, and genuine relief to ensure that public services remain dependable at the local level. Crucial to this is placing greater trust in municipal authorities.
Achim Schwickert, Chair of the Rhineland-Palatinate District Council, underscored the severity of the situation in Mainz: "For years, the districts of Rhineland-Palatinate have been pedaling as hard as they can. On top of chronic underfunding, we are grappling with an ever-increasing workload. This cannot continue. The new state government must act now. Today, we sent a clear and visible message through the state capital: We refuse to be left in this state any longer—everyone must step up and do their part."
The district administrators aim to make it unmistakably clear to the incoming state government that without functional local administrations, essential public services—from education and social programs to healthcare—cannot be sustained in the long term.
Only with properly funded and reliably financed local authorities can schools and daycare centers remain operational, healthcare and hospital structures be preserved, social services be organized, and infrastructure be maintained. The districts therefore expect the upcoming coalition negotiations to address these issues—time is running out.
