New loans and high investments are necessary in Friesenheim. Financially tough years are expected.
On Monday, the Friesenheim municipal council decided on the budget for 2021 with the business plans of the company’s own businesses. In view of the corona pandemic, the administration and parliamentary groups agreed to forego traditional statements in the form of speeches and thus to shorten the duration of the meeting. The speeches of the parliamentary group spokespersons were available as manuscripts.
The CDU emphasized that Friesenheim was fortunate to have a large number of medium-sized and smaller businesses as well as many craft firms, which mitigated the decline in trade taxes and prevented “falling into an even deeper hole like in a Ried community”.
The CDU also warned of an investment backlog in the maintenance of municipal roads. For the second year in a row, no funds are entered in the budget. “That will surely catch up with us in the future,” writes parliamentary group spokesman Ewald Schaubrenner in the manuscript.
Free voters think borrowing is “not bad”
In their statement, the Free Voters emphasize the difficult financial situation of the community as a result of the pandemic. Group spokesman Hans-Jürgen Kopf describes the borrowing of 700,000 euros as “not too bad” because the community is still in good shape and has always managed well in recent years. But head referred to already committed liabilities amounting to almost four million euros in the next budget years.
The Free Voters criticize the multitude of tasks that are assigned to the community. As an example, they refer to the construction of a new daycare center in Heiligenzell, which is to be run for the first time by municipal sponsorship. “The legitimate question arises as to how we should and can do all of this,” said Kopf in the paper.
Dietmar Kairies has put together a catalog with those measures that the GLU parliamentary group rates positively and those that they criticize. The positive list includes, among other things, the construction of a public, handicapped-accessible toilet, a covered bicycle parking space with e-bike charging facilities at the town hall or the decision to design the space in front of the town center. In principle, the GLU supports the new nature kindergarten at the Sternenberghalle, the council information system and a fixed sum of 100,000 euros for measures from the transport concept.
GLU is critical of the designation of new construction areas
According to the paper, the GLU sees the designation of new construction areas in Friesenheim as critical. “Areas are finite, which is why residential and industrial areas should only be designated with care”, it says literally. The GLU reminds that the committee failed to raise the lease for agricultural land owned by the community and that it did not advance organic farming either.
Fred Kletzin draws an oppressive balance sheet for the community treasury in his SPD statement. “Hard years lie ahead of us,” said the group spokesman. “In the long run, further debts are no way out of the dilemma.” However, the SPD considers the loan of 700,000 euros “to be justifiable under the circumstances”.
SPD is for an all-day elementary school
The parliamentary group uses the opinion to place the keyword all-day primary school again. “If we had an all-day elementary school, the state would cover a large part of the costs and relieve the community budget.” In view of the failure to introduce an all-day elementary school in Friesenheim a few years ago due to resistance from parents, the SPD admits “that the establishment of an all-day elementary school is a matter for the parents”.
With a view to rising childcare fees, the SPD emphasizes its demand for parents to be exempt from fees. She also wants more social housing and improvements in local transport and investments in safe crossing options for the railway tracks at the station. “If we wait for the train, we can wait a long time,” writes Kletzin.
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