Skanderborg Municipality has applied for 50 million kroner from a state pool reserved for particularly financially challenged municipalities, saying a local child boom is draining its treasury.
DR reports that the East Jutland municipality of Skanderborg has requested the money from the pool for “særligt vanskeligt stillede kommuner.” Mayor Frands Fischer, of the Social Democrats, says growth rather than decline is squeezing the budget.
According to Fischer, Skanderborg has the country’s largest share of kindergarten and primary school children. He says the municipality is experiencing a genuine child boom, with a direct financial consequence, because new daycare facilities must be paid for. The 50 million kroner would help fund two new kindergartens in Virring and Låsby, which together cost around 80 million kroner.
In its application, the municipality states plainly that it has a relatively well-off population with a high level of education and low use of public transfer incomes. Fischer still considers Skanderborg entitled to support, arguing that the national equalization system does not sufficiently account for the cost of children and young people.
As explained by the mayor, funds are distributed according to the number of inhabitants, while Skanderborg has a relatively large share of children aged 0 to 6. He says the municipality’s liquidity will fall well below the national average next year. Without action in the coming budget, he says, the state will send a letter requiring the municipality to address its liquidity.
A total of 45 municipalities have applied to the pool. Danske Kommuner reports that the applications total about 2.7 billion kroner, while the pool for 2027 contains 1 billion kroner, agreed in the economic deal between the government and Local Government Denmark. TV MIDTVEST notes that 45 of the country’s 98 municipalities applied, and that the pool was raised from 800 million kroner.
Several applicants point to residents on transfer incomes. DR notes that Lolland and Langeland municipalities are seeking 333 million kroner and 115 million kroner respectively, on that basis.
Din Avis reports that Skanderborg’s economic chief, Thomas Astrup Bæk, describes the situation as quite serious, citing large investments in the children and youth area. According to the same outlet, the municipality invested around 700 million kroner in children and youth facilities from 2023 to 2026. An additional cost from a national arbitration ruling on overtime for part-time employees adds further pressure.
DK Nyt covers the case under the heading that a child boom is emptying the municipal treasury in Skanderborg. Allocation of the pool rests with the Interior and Health Ministry, and the 45 applicants will learn at the end of this month whether they receive support.
