Lolland Municipality’s expected deficit for next year has been revised down to 347 million kroner, a reduction of 184 million kroner compared with the earlier projection of more than half a billion.
The new figures come from a status update on Budget 2027 presented to the municipal council. DR reports that the shortfall in the municipal treasury is now smaller than the sum announced earlier this year. Henrik Jacobsen of the Conservatives, chair of the Climate, Technical and Environment Committee, said the catastrophe has taken on a lighter color, but that large savings are still needed.
Lolland had previously warned of a deficit of 531 million kroner for 2027. According to TV2 Øst, which first reported the status update, the economic gap has been narrowed by 184 million kroner. Folketidende reports the same figures, describing the 2027 budget as improved by 184 million kroner.
Postponed construction and lower unemployment
Several factors lie behind the improvement. DR reports that the postponement of a number of construction projects contributed, along with wage developments that differed from what the municipality had assumed. The changes were registered in the administration’s updated calculations for next year.
The largest surprise concerns unemployment in the municipality. It has fallen to 1.9 percent, a development that Vibeke Grave of the Social Democrats, chair of the Social and Labour Market Committee, said the municipality had not dared to predict. The higher number of people in work has strengthened the municipal treasury by 73 million kroner.
Despite the improved figures, the council is still working with a savings program. In early August, the administration presented a catalogue of possible savings worth 200 million kroner. Among the proposals are the closure of two schools and the merger of two others.
Jacobsen said he is satisfied with the development but maintains that cuts remain unavoidable. He said the municipality has been overtaken by reality in recent years, pointing to a population decline that has been larger than expected and an economy that has not been adjusted to it.
According to the status update, the municipality faces further heavy deficits in 2028 and 2029 of around half a billion kroner each. Towns in the municipality, including Rødbyhavn, are expected to feel the effect of the proposed savings. The council must still decide which measures from the savings catalogue to adopt.
The revised deficit does not change the scale of the prioritizations ahead, according to Jacobsen. He said hard savings remain necessary even with the smaller shortfall for 2027.
