How Much Do Services to the Public Cost?

All services provided by public bodies and departments cost money. The Senate Finance Administration has now published statistics to show how much money has been spent on certain services. It is aimed at making the Senate administration transparent and to enable a comparison between different districts. For the taxpayer, it is a source of information so that one can see how expensive services are and what they pay for.

School

A primary school slot costs an average of 5975€ per year in Berlin, which includes costs for the school building maintenance, teaching and learning aids, and after school care. The cheapest school slot is in Treptow-Köpenick at 5179€ per year and the most expensive in Neukölln at 6397€ per annum.

Parking ticket

The fine for an illegal parking offence is between 5-35€, which causes administration costs of 9.65€. Reinickendorf has lower administration costs at 8.87€ and Treptow-Köpenick the highest costs at 10.25€ per ticket issued.

Neighborhood patrol

Police patrol in the neighborhood costs an average of 63€ in Neukölln, 59€ in Lichtenberg and 70€ in Berlin Mitte.

Parental counseling

Districts in Berlin offer parents an initial consultation for newborns. This services costs 143€ in Marzahn-Hellersdorf, 200€ in Treptow–Köpenick and 163€ in others districts in Berlin. For parents this service is free of charge.

Passport

The administration costs incurred for the processing of one passport are 63,33€. The citizen however pays 59€. Citizens under 24 –years pay 37.50€ .

Justice system

A day spent in prison costs 71€ per prisoner. The costs of carrying out an investigation by the prosecutor per person is 171€. A use of a bailiff is estimated at 41€. The administrative costs incurred for a complaint before the Labour Court is 727€.

Street lighting 

Street light maintenance costs are 150€ per year.

Sports

For sporting activities the city of Berlin spends 83€ per person. Around 300 athletes in Berlin cost the city 7724€ every year.

Income Tax department

It costs 113€ to process a tax return per case. The tax audit of a small business costs 5263€ and 6286€ for a medium-sized business.