Bürgerversammlung

Oberursel’s No-Win Financial Situation

November 4, 2013 By Graham Tappenden Leave a Comment

It can’t be easy being in charge of Oberursel’s finances. After two rounds of spending cuts and tax increases, the town’s budget could budget could be in the black to the tune of around €4.5 million after a sudden windfall of corporate income tax (Gewerbesteuer) and further cuts in the culture department.

That is, it would be if the next higher level of government – the Kreis – had not increased the amount that the town has to pay for their services, including the school, by almost €11 million for the coming year, leaving with the town with a deficit in 2014 of just over €6 million.

So once again the town called a meeting of its residents to discuss the next round of savings, holding it this year in the Burgwiesenhalle in Bommersheim. The hall may not have been full – around 160 people turned up – but there were a significant number of children and teenagers present to protest against the planned cuts in funding for the “Jugendtreffs” in Weißkirchen and Stierstadt. [Read more…]

Filed Under: News, Photos Tagged With: Bommersheim, Budget, Bürgerversammlung, Burgwiesenhalle, Ferdinand-Balzer-Haus, finance, Haushalt, Jugendtreff, protest, Stadthalle, Taunushalle, Thorsten Schorr

Discuss the town budget in Bommersheim

October 29, 2013 By Graham Tappenden Leave a Comment

A “Bürgerversammlung” is being held in the Burgwiesenhalle in Bommersheim on Wednesday, 30th October, 2013 at 7pm to discuss the new town budget.

Residents will have the chance to find out what is planned in the 2014 budget and ask any questions that they have about it.

Filed Under: Other News Tagged With: Bommersheim, Budget, Bürgerversammlung, Burgwiesenhalle

Ask the people what they want!

November 4, 2012 By Graham Tappenden 1 Comment

Last month in Oberursel the draft version of the town’s budget for the year 2013 was published, including the details of how it will need to spend more than it earns in taxes and other fees.

It is clear that savings need to be made and a “Haushaltssicherungskonzept” needs to be developed. But where can the town raise taxes or cut services without alienating the population?

That is probably one of the most difficult questions that a town administration faces, so maybe that is the reason why – for the first time – the town’s residents where invited to a “Bürgerversammlung” at the town hall to discuss precisely that. [Read more…]

Filed Under: News, Photos Tagged With: Andreas Heinze, Budget, Bürgerversammlung, Christof Fink, Christoph Müllerleile, discussion, Elvira Schimanski-Sippel, Hans-Georg Brum, Haushaltssicherungskonzept, Michael Noll, savings plan, tax, Town

Discuss the town budget at the town hall

October 29, 2012 By Graham Tappenden Leave a Comment

A “Bürgerversammlung” is being held in the town hall (Rathaus) on Wednesday, 31st October, 2012 at 8pm to discuss the new town budget.

Residents will have the chance to find out what is planned in the 2013 budget and ask any questions that they have about it.

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: Budget, Bürgerversammlung, Rathaus

Why Oberursel can’t afford to build a new swimming pool

September 7, 2012 By Graham Tappenden 3 Comments

The Stadthalle was packed full on Wednesday evening for the “Bürgerversammlung” to discuss the new swimming pool.

Hans-Georg Brum (Mayor)

It all started off quite well, with the mayor Hans-Georg Brum asking the question “if we don’t build it now, when will we?” and pointing out the value of the new indoor swimming pool for the schools in the town and in general for children, youths and older people, stressing the fact that it was not just for the swimming club (SCO) and the lifeguards (DLRG).

With a nod to the financial problems he asked the politicians in the town to stand behind the project, claiming that if everyone wants it to happen, somehow it will be possible. For this he received a round of applause.

The next presentation was about the building itself, but finally led to the calculation of how the project is going to be financed. For the first time, the public were shown a list of the pieces of land that are to be sold off to raise the capital. Or at least, the roads in which these pieces of land are in.

Perhaps most interesting at this point was [Read more…]

Filed Under: News, Photos Tagged With: Bürgerversammlung, DLRG, Hallenbad, Hans-Georg Brum, Schwimmbad, SCO, Stadthalle, Stadtkämmerer, swimming pool, Thorsten Schorr, treasurer

Can Oberursel afford to build a new swimming pool?

September 4, 2012 By Graham Tappenden Leave a Comment

The indoor swimming pool in Oberursel has now been closed for four years and is now probably one of the most discussed topics amongst the people and in particular the politicians in the town.

Last week it was on the agenda of the planning and environmental committee at the town hall, this week there is a Bürgerversammlung to update everyone on the current state of the planning and to allow people to put forward their views. Next week the town council is due to vote on the project. And various Bebauungspläne have been amended to allow for land to be sold off and built on to finance it all.

But it is the financial situation that remains the biggest question of all: can the town afford it? [Read more…]