Burggen gets a professional mayor

Created: 01/23/2022, 08:00

By: Elena Siegl

There is another election in Burggen.

© dpa (symbol image)

Should the future Burgener mayor continue to work on a voluntary basis or devote himself full-time to the office?

That's what the recent council meeting was all about.

Burggen – In the run-up to the upcoming mayoral elections in Burggen, the municipal council dealt with the future legal status of the first mayor on Thursday. So it was a question of "whether the new head of town hall should continue to work on a voluntary basis or full-time," summarized Peter Hofmann, who moderated the meeting. Although the mayor in communities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants is usually an honorary officer, the municipal council can also specify otherwise in the statutes at least 90 days before the election.

Stefan Schnack explained to the audience that there had already been a long and intensive discussion in private.

The disadvantage of a full-time head of town hall is certainly that it will cost more.

Concrete figures were given at the meeting: A volunteer mayor does not work for free and would therefore receive almost 80,000 euros a year, a full-time mayor up to 108,000 euros.

Reasons for full-time mayor in Burggen

Despite the additional costs, the advantages of a professional mayor would ultimately outweigh the difficulties that the municipality is in, Schnack explained the municipal council's considerations. He recalled that Mayor Josef Schuster was removed from office for several months last year and has been absent due to illness since October. Understandably, some tasks were left undone.

Although deputy Johann Welz had a relatively large amount of time as a pensioner, everything "did well and brought things back to day-to-day operations," said Schnack.

Nonetheless, there are still a great deal of work to be done.

This includes getting the financial situation under control, the “Inside instead of Outside” project, the village community center and several building areas, Schnack listed.

In addition, there is still a large agenda of ideas to make Burggen fit for the future.

Every single topic demands intensive work from the mayor – and familiarization.

Because, Schnack made it clear: "Because of the personal situation of each individual, no applicant will be available from the municipal council."

Mayoral election in Burggen: No candidate from the municipal council

So someone will become mayor who "is not yet in the matter," says Schnack. Given this situation, it is not possible to only do the mayor's job "on the side". "A volunteer who cannot cope with the tasks costs us more in the end," says Schnack. Added to this is the difficult personnel situation in the administrative community. As reported, the positions of manager and treasurer are vacant.

"The decision has consequences," said Richard Lang.

Although he had doubts at first, he also came to the conclusion that the next mayor should work full-time.

"I hope that there will be someone from the village who feels up to the task." Working full-time in the office might be more attractive for some, Schnack also assumes.

The municipal council unanimously decided on a future professional mayor.

The Articles of Association will be amended accordingly.

At the end of 2019, the legal status of the Burgener mayor was already an issue in the municipal council and had caused long debates.

Even then, the abundance of tasks that had to be dealt with "on the side" was discussed.

However, the prevailing opinion was that hiring a volunteer had not gone badly and that a professional mayor would cost too much.

At that time, seven to five decided to stick to the volunteering regulation.