Mayor Max Gotz could really have done without this “gift”.
On his 57th birthday, of all places, the taxpayers' association added the town hall tunnel to its black book yesterday.
Erding - Mayor Max Gotz could really have done without this “gift”.
On his 57th birthday, of all places, the taxpayers' association added the town hall tunnel to its black book yesterday.
The city is defending itself and considers the connecting passage between the old and the new administration on Landshuter Straße to be right and important.
The taxpayers' association has noted 1.1 million wasted euros in its black book.
In its assessment presented on Tuesday, the association asks the question: Is an above-ground road crossing so absurd or unreasonable for city officials?
His conclusion: "Tunnel construction is definitely one thing: underground - and that in the truest sense of the word."
Tunnel is already finished
As is well known, the tunnel is now finished, these days the Landshuter Straße will be widened into a square with bus stops on both sides and a traffic-calmed area.
The tunnel is 28 meters long.
The taxpayers' association puts the costs at 1.1 million euros.
Gotz had recently put the pure construction investment at around 700,000 euros.
The city's statement is quoted in detail.
The town hall is of the opinion that the tunnel is necessary for efficient handling of the many administrative processes.
Among the 150 employees there is a "great need for coordination".
There are interdisciplinary discussions "which cannot be replaced by electronic mail or telephone calls".
A division of the departments in both buildings, which would make an exchange unnecessary, is not possible.
“The construction of the connection can prevent the administrative units from diverging over time,” the city communicated to the taxpayers' association.
In addition, mail distribution, cleaning and janitorial work would be considerably simplified.
The city expects a "considerable personnel traffic".
According to the Black Book, costs are likely to continue to rise
Nevertheless, the federal government questions tunneling: “Is an underground connection absolutely necessary for this?” The association doubts “that the costs, which experience has shown will continue to rise until completion, are actually offset by adequate benefits”.
Gotz recently told our newspaper that there were no signs of any increases in construction costs.
What the taxpayers' association is hiding: Erding currently has a per capita debt of just under 30 euros, a figure that not many municipalities achieve.
Almost everyone on the city council was in favor of the tunnel
Even if some city councilors keep it quiet today: the tunnel was first decided by the planning and construction committee and then by a large majority in the plenum.
But there was criticism from the start.
In the course of the debate, but only after the local elections in March, Gotz had admitted that the argument was not always happy.
Nobody in Erding wanted to believe in running 300 errands a day.
It was also said that confidential documents could be damaged or even blown with the wind while walking across the street.
Gotz later argued that a connection should have been created between the two administration buildings for data lines and building services anyway, which was then widened to a tunnel.
Citizens are not allowed through
In Erding, the mockery continues, politicians and administrators are also being chalked up, saying that citizens cannot use the underpass for insurance reasons, unless they are accompanied by a city employee.
So far, the tunnel has only caused trouble for the city, and especially for Gotz.
His poor performance in the OB election - the 57-year-old surprisingly had to go to the runoff election against Petra Bauernfeind (FW / 50) - as well as the losses of his CSU, he attributed to the tunnel debate.
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And hardly any TV station has not yet stopped in Erding to make fun of Erding's tunnel.
"MM-BAVARIA