Mayor Michael Müller recently made it clear that speakers of the city council have no special rights in Geretsried. The elected officials do not see this as a restriction on their commitment.
Geretsried - The city council has ten speakers during this term of office. Citizens like to see them as representatives for their respective specialty - which, however, they are not, as city hall chief Michael Müller recently made clear in a city council meeting. "The city is represented exclusively by the mayor," he said. Speakers are not ministers. They have an intermediary function between the city council and the administration.
As reported, the occasion was an application from Martina Raschke (Greens) to introduce the speakers and their goals, which was rejected. “A speaker does not come with a program,” said Müller, contradicting the suggestion. A speaker has no special rights. Like any other mandate holder, he can develop ideas as part of the work of the city council. In addition, an individual city council has no right to information in the administration. Even if the mayor's description of the speaker role was harsh, this was apparently not taken as a muzzle or a restriction of the commitment, as the inquiries from some long-term office holders revealed.
Dr. Sabine Gus-Mayer, senior adviser for twelve years, thought it was good that this was clearly stated. "We do not have our own decision-making power," said the CSU city councilor. That is why she brought the "chicken question" to the responsible committee three years ago. During the forest summer, the senior consultant and hard-working helpers distribute chicken stamps to citizens who are over 65 years old. Since more and more visitors to the Volksfest wanted to steal free chicken or even take it home with them, she asked for legal certainty so that she would no longer be exposed to such audacity without protection.
With her regular senior consultations, she probably has a special position, says Gus-Mayer. “But you shouldn't overestimate that as a city council consultation hour.” On average, two or three citizens come there who want a contact person or want to talk something off their feet. After the problem that the bus stops in the city were not barrier-free, she formulated this in an application to the city council. "I see it as our main task to raise concerns from the population," said Gus-Mayer.
Sports advisor Wolfgang Werner (SPD) also has its own format with “Where does the sneaker press?”, Where he offers his target group, the sports clubs, a platform. He wants to keep doing that. “If that shouldn't happen anymore, the mayor has to tell me. But I don't know what my post would be, ”says Werner. The “sneaker” serves purely for the exchange of information. "Of course I'm not Minister of Sport."
In the recent local elections, Werner challenged Müller as a candidate for mayor. Since there was another discussion round taking place in February this year, Werner could imagine that the incumbent smelled too much of the election campaign, says the SPD city council. But Müller wouldn't have to worry about that for the next six years. “The election campaign is over. He's the mayor and I'm not, ”said Werner. He wants to continue to work trustfully with the administration and the sports clubs.
"I didn't find that a ruffian," says cultural advisor Hans Ketelhut about the mayor's statements. It is absolutely correct that speakers should not simply march into the administration. He respects that. "They have a lot of work," said the CSU city council.
When asked, Volker Witte admits that Müller's harsh words “shook him”. But he does not want to comment further. “I think that was not meant that way,” said the Green City Council, who, as an environmental officer, “wants to continue to take care of the trees and playgrounds in the city”.
Volker Reeh (Geretsrieder list) was not in the relevant meeting, but had read about it. Nothing will change for him as an economic officer. “Companies often first seek contact with a business officer or business development department before going to the mayor. I try to mediate. ”As an economic consultant with 24 years of experience and thus under three different mayors, Reeh says:“ Geretsrieder mayors do not want the representative role of speakers. I see that calmly. "
Mayor determines business processes
The order of the Mayor of Geretsried is legally in order, says Wilfried Schober, Director of the Bavarian Municipal Assembly with a view to the Bavarian municipal code. Article 38, paragraph 1 regulates that the first mayor represents the municipality externally. He also stipulates how internal business processes should run, according to Articles 37 and 46. Schober: “We do not know how restrictively or generously this is handled in other communities and cities. We assume that it depends on the conditions on site and the respective speakers ... "
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