Toni Demmel was mayor of Königsdorf for twelve years - in an interview with our newspaper he takes stock.
Königsdorf - Toni Demmel was the mayor of the municipality of Königsdorf for twelve years. The 48-year-old no longer ran for election in March, and the desire for a career change or the post of district administrator (which he was denied) was stronger. In an interview with our newspaper, Demmel takes stock. There are not many Bavarian communities with 3,000 inhabitants that have developed as positively as Königsdorf, he says.
Mr. Demmel, that shows great self-confidence. Can you support this claim?
We have invested a lot, I will give you a few figures: industrial area 4.9 million euros, town hall 1.8 million, canal construction Königsdorf-Süd 1.9 million, daycare and crèche 1.6 million, school and all-weather place 1 million, vehicles 600,000 Euro, water supply 1.1 million, housing 3.2 million, expansion of ten streets 1.5 million, land purchases 750,000, the hall 250,000, the fire station 350,000 and a few small things. The total investment volume was just under 20 million. And now it comes: We started in 2008 with a volume of 3.6 million in administrative and 1.2 million in asset budgets. In 2019 there were 6.6 and 2.1 million respectively. The reserves were 2.2 million in 2008 and we had 52,000 euros in debt. Now we have EUR 4.9 million in reserves and are debt free. In 2008 we had 21 employees in the community, today there are 33. Many of these projects have only accompanied two people for a long time. We were just five heads in total in the town hall - including the cash register. When Peter Demmel left and Andreas Baumann took over the management, there were only two of us again for the big projects, before André Murach (the current building manager, editor) joined in 2018. Only now do we have an organizational structure with a manager, building manager and treasurer Beatrix Vierthaler, as it should be for a community of our size.
You go as a satisfied man? Is there melancholy?
Thursday was my last day and since then I have had little time to worry about it. Today, for example, I poured concrete into my brother's house. It was fun. But of course I was touched when I said goodbye to my employees. We sat - with a safe distance - in the conference room and rattled a bit. We were a good team, I will miss it.
As you mentioned at the beginning, the congregation made a difference during your term in office. Your greatest success?
I consider my greatest success to be the good cooperation in the local council. This was the only way we could be successful. Sure, the new town hall was a lighthouse project - but it could only be implemented because everyone was involved. And there were quite different views: seven were for a more modern variant, including me, eight for the more historical one, which it then became. We forwarded the entry plan with 10: 2 votes. A prime example of how it worked for us, especially in the first term.
And during your second term?
... it was sometimes tougher, but that wasn't so much due to the local council. The economy boomed a lot more and then it just gets more complicated.
Can you think of a particularly beautiful moment?
The inauguration of the town hall in 2014 was absolutely top. The village associations took over the hospitality and over 800 people celebrated on the town hall square. All Königsdorfer have held together. I really enjoyed the day.
Was there also the bad moment, the trouble with the health department about drinking water, for example?
No, things like that are part of the political business, and ultimately the court ruled. These emotional 1: 1 conflicts and allegations were much worse for me. When a mother sits in front of you and tells you in the face that you poison her child with the water. Or the builder, who, in contrast to the neighbor, forbids the dormer ten meters further, just because his house is subject to the development plan, and that his neighbor's is in the normal village area. We wanted to help him, but the district office said no. You can no longer explain this to a citizen. He says: "You spin" - and rightly so.
Do you regret that you were no longer able to complete the school project yourself?
Mei, of course you always want to be faster. But you should stay realistic. Due to the good order situation, we were unable to get ahead with some things, such as the building yard. But whether the Demmel builds it or the Kopnicky ultimately does not matter. The main thing is that the thing will be fine and the costs will be right. And one more thing about school: We already put a million in there, we renovated the toilets from 1969, renewed floors, windows and doors.
What do you wish your home community for the next twelve years?
That she can tackle as many voluntary projects as possible. That would mean that she has completed all of her compulsory tasks such as school, childcare, water and that the community is doing well.
What is your further personal path?
I will first work as a lecturer for the Bavarian School of Administration, train the administrative assistants in local law and prepare for the exam. I really enjoy it. I will handle everything else.
Despite his loss to the incumbent, CSU candidate Demmel does not see himself as a loser. The new city council chief Rainer Kopnicky and six new councilors were recently sworn in in Königsdorf.
peb