Neukölln in austerity mode: urgent measures for a weak budget
Neukölln is planning drastic austerity measures for 2024/2025, affecting education, social offerings and infrastructure.

Neukölln in austerity mode: urgent measures for a weak budget
On June 10, 2025, the Neukölln district office passed the key parameters resolution for the 2026/2027 double budget. This resolution determines the global sum allocated by the Berlin Senate to the individual business areas and offices and predicts drastic savings in the district. The financial burdens caused by general price increases as well as high energy and building costs have a major impact on the budget. The budget deficit is of particular concern, particularly affecting the areas of education and youth, where more money is already being spent than the average for other districts. A deficit of 8.2 million euros is expected for the school sector in 2024.
The district office expects that around 20 million euros less will be available per financial year than necessary to guarantee the current scope of services. Reserves from previous years are no longer available, which further exacerbates the situation. Given these circumstances, all offices and business areas are called upon to review their spending and take measures to improve efficiency. Steps must be taken to reduce the budget deficit and achieve fair burden sharing.
Comprehensive austerity measures decided
The Neukölln district recently announced a series of tough austerity measures to counter financial pressure. According to information from Berliner Zeitung, a lack of funds of 22.8 million euros is required annually to maintain the status quo. The measures adopted will lead to cuts in social services, which will affect many citizens. These include:
- Wegfall des Wachschutzes an zwölf Schulen
- Wegfall der Tagesreinigung an Schulen
- Reduzierung der Obdachlosenhilfe
- Wegfall der aufsuchenden Suchthilfe
- Schließung von Wasserspielplätzen
- Keine Erneuerung kaputter Spielgeräte auf Spielplätzen
- Halbierung der Müllentsorgung in Grünanlagen
- Schließung von drei Jugendfreizeit- bzw. Familieneinrichtungen
- Reduzierung der Stadtteilkoordination ab 2025
- Keine Finanzierung von Jugendreisen für besonders betroffene Jugendliche
- Wegfall des Alt-Rixdorfer Weihnachtsmarktes
- Temporäre Nichtbesetzung freier Stellen im Bezirksamt
These cuts will be incorporated into the budget negotiations for the 2024/2025 double budget. District mayor Martin Hikel makes it clear that budget planning is faced with significant challenges and new financing is required for the districts.
Berlin's financial situation is getting worse
The Berlin Senate is facing a massive challenge: In order to save three billion euros next year, significant cuts will be necessary in various areas. Finance Senator Stefan Evers has already announced that the budget gap will not be easy to fix. The coalition plans to make drastic cuts, particularly in local public transport and culture. These savings are also expected to affect the social sector, but to a lesser extent than other sectors. Berlin's debt level, currently at around 66 billion euros, is being put under additional pressure by rising interest rates, which further complicates the financial situation.
In addition, district mayors warn in a fire letter that an increase in financial resources of 250 million euros for social infrastructure is urgently needed. The House of Representatives estimates that €180 million could potentially be made available, which could ease some of the strained austerity measures. The upcoming budget planning is therefore under great financial pressure and cannot be carried out without noticeable consequences for the Neukölln population.