Municipality saves everywhere: no money for citizen participation

Created: 06/17/2022, 05:30

By: Andreas Sachsen

Oberschleißheim Town Hall.

© Gerald Fortsch

One cannot hope for qualified citizen participation in Oberschleißheim for the time being.

The municipality cannot afford the digital platform "Consul" at the moment.

Oberschleißheim

– While people in Unterschleißheim no longer want to do without “Consul”, what counts for Oberschleißheim are the bottom line: “at least 10,000 euros” are expected to be used annually for the use of this platform for public participation, plus the processing costs the platform required one and a half posts.

Not a lot of money for the citizen participation that has been demanded again and again for years, as was occasionally heard.

Since the Greensill bankruptcy in spring 2021 and the loss of almost all of its reserves of five million euros, the community has been saving everywhere.

Factions are reserved

In February, the municipal council commissioned the town hall to examine citizen participation systems for their application in Oberschleißheim.

Although the responsible department head in Unterschleißheim, Steven Ahlrep, awarded "Consul" excellent marks in the most recent meeting, the parliamentary groups behaved noticeably reserved.

A decision was not planned.

In the event of a vote, the topic of citizen participation would at least have been postponed: "We simply don't have these 1.5 positions at the moment," said FW spokesman Stefan Vohburger, summarizing the mood.

set of tools

The open source platform "Consul" is considered by users to be the Rolls-Royce of the available citizen participation systems.

"The world's most comprehensive instrument," as Ahlrep put it.

The platform developed by municipal administrations, universities and citizens is used by federal states, municipalities and citizens' initiatives.

In addition to cities like Madrid and New York, Unterschleißheim is in good company with 135 users worldwide.

According to Ahlrep, "Consul" offers its users tools such as defect reports, discussion platform, citizens' budget, archive function, voting, surveys and exchange with neighboring municipalities.

Citizen contact guaranteed

From the new kindergarten to residential buildings, damage to the playground and the defective ramp for wheelchairs to ant infestations in the schoolyard: the platform guarantees the town hall direct contact with the public.

"Consul" was used particularly intensively as an offer for direct participation in the "Lohhof Süd" project, explained Ahlrep: "The platform ensures transparency."

New age groups are reached

Ahlrep does not believe that a minority of citizens could provoke imbalances in the democratic decision-making process by loudly expressing their will, as Peter Benthues (CSU) fears.

On the contrary, he is convinced that "Consul" will help the community to form a broader opinion.

Citizens who take part in local events through the usual offers of participation, such as town hall meetings and letters to the editor, would be male on average 56 years old.

With the help of "Consul", Ahlrep is convinced that he can also reach completely different groups.