As of: February 10, 2024, 9:02 a.m
By: Peter Schiebel
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Price increases and fewer subsidies: Preparing the budget for 2024 is a challenge for Starnberg.
© Jochen Lübke
Significant price increases in the seaside resort, reduction in subsidies, for example, thinning out of city events: the city council decided on all of this in its first budget debate on Thursday.
There is still no decision on increasing fees for kindergartens, crèches and after-school care.
Starnberg
- The first public consultation of the city's budget for the current year has ended.
For around three hours on Thursday evening, the city councilors discussed the consolidation concept presented by the city administration.
With the submission, the administration fulfilled the mandate that the city council had given it in a closed meeting on January 12th - unanimously, as managing director Ludwig Beck emphasized.
At that meeting, the city council set a consolidation volume of ten million euros in the administrative budget, the part of the budget from which current business is covered.
And he explained that an approvable budget was the short-term goal, explained Beck.
According to Mayor Patrick Janik, the budget is currently still a long way from this.
“As of now, almost 5.3 million euros are missing,” said treasurer Thomas Deller.
“And we have not yet created a euro that we can use for investments.” The aim is to reduce expenses and increase income, said Janik.
He reacted with incomprehension to statements made right at the beginning of the agenda item by Eva and Josef Pfister (both BMS) and Anke Henniger (FDP), for whom the topic did not go far enough.
Henniger missed the consideration of outsourcing, Josef Pfister would have liked to shed light on the entire household.
“For me, that’s only half the story,” he said.
The first thing to do is to get a budget that can be approved, replied Janik and announced further rounds: “Today we start, and the rest won’t be much more fun.” The stage is clear for the first discussions and decisions:
City library
The fee for the reading pass in the city library will rise from the current 15 euros to 36 euros per year at the beginning of 2025.
As a result, the city wants to earn an additional 23,800 euros.
Daycare centers
How high should parental contributions be in municipal daycare centers in the future?
The city councilors discussed this for almost an hour, but without making a substantive decision.
A motion from Eva Pfister to adjourn was approved with a vote of 12:10.
Manager Beck had previously presented the figures.
Accordingly, in 2021 and 2022 there were deficits of 5.5 million euros for kindergartens, 105,000 euros for daycare centers and 1.1 million euros for after-school care centers - each without parental contributions.
Including the current parental contributions, around 40 percent (kindergarten, after-school care) and around 60 percent (nursery) are covered.
The consolidation concept now envisaged achieving 45 percent cost coverage for kindergarten and after-school care in the new kindergarten year from September, 50 percent the next year and then 55 percent in 2026/27 - for the daycare center 70 percent in the new year and 75 percent the following year Percent (see table with proposal for kindergartens).
Overall, the city would receive 737,000 euros more or – depending on your point of view – less.
“I know that this is a hefty increase, but we are far from the end of the road when I look at other municipalities in the district,” said Janik.
Ludwig Beck also pointed out that the kindergarten fees had not been adjusted “for twelve or 15 years”.
It was still too much for Eva Pfister: “Cost coverage is one thing, socially acceptable is another,” she said.
Michael Mignoli (BLS) and Dr.
Franz Sengl (Greens) spoke out in favor of a social staggering of fees.
“We need to differentiate between moms who are at the golf course at 9 and moms who have to go to work at 9,” Mignoli said.
Janik emphasized the effort involved and explained that no comparable municipality in the area has such a scale.
“I warn against always wanting to make everything better in Starnberg.
This way of thinking got us to where we are now.” Thomas Beigel (CSU) and Marc Fiedler (FDP), on the other hand, considered the increase to be reasonable.
“40 euros a month, I can’t get very far in one evening with a babysitter,” said Fiedler.
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Seaside resort
With a vote of 13:9, some significant increases have already been approved for the seaside resort, which should bring the city 722,000 euros more income per year.
The administration took over the new tariffs “1:1 from the 'PiORAMA' swimming pool in Penzberg,” explained Ludwig Beck.
The offer is comparable.
Criticism here also came from Anke Henniger (“without any feeling”) and Eva Pfister, who also wanted to increase the prices, but not to the extent suggested.
Ralf Breitenfeldt (WPS) also pointed out that if there was a significant price increase, visitors might stay away.
Janik didn't assume that visitors in Penzberg would pay exactly these rates.
This time, Michael Mignoli and Franz Sengl followed the consolidation proposal.
“The seaside resort is pure luxury compared to daycare centers,” emphasized Sengl, who even advocated closing the facility completely in June, July and August.
Janik explained that this will be discussed at a later date.
The increase was just manageable, said Friedrich Federsel (Greens) and recalled the possibility of swimming in the lake for free in summer.
It was also decided, unanimously, to eliminate the proportional reimbursement of parking fees for seaside resort users.
The city wants to save 40,000 euros this year and next year.
The city council did not take advantage of the option of removing discounted entry for employees of blue light institutions and holders of volunteer cards - also because it significantly increased the sauna tariffs with a vote of 19:3.
In winter, the evening rate from 7:30 p.m. will cost 25 euros (previously 18 euros), the four-hour rate will cost 39 euros (previously 28.50 euros) and the daily rate will cost 49 euros (previously 36 euros). In summer, the evening rate will be 25 euros Euros (previously 18 euros) and 39 euros for the day (previously 28.50 euros).
Eva Pfister had suggested these amounts, which were even higher than those in the consolidation concept.
The city administration was based on the tariffs of Monte Mare in Tegernsee.
The additional income should amount to around 200,000 euros per year.
grants
In future, subsidies to various groups will be capped at around 60 percent of the previous level.
This is 100,000 euros for cultural subsidies (the cultural committee should decide on the distribution), 30,000 euros for subsidies from the area of welfare (the distribution is the responsibility of the main and finance committee), and 19,000 euros for fire brigade subsidies (fire brigade commander Markus Grasl had this in view There is nothing wrong with the budget situation - “even if it makes me unpopular with my colleagues”), for youth grants 12,600 euros, for trainer grants 7,800 euros.
Senior Day
A decision to cancel the 5,600 euros for Senior Citizens' Day was postponed.
First, the senior citizens' advisory board should be heard.
0 euro ticket for students
So far, the city is spending 8,000 euros a year to offer a free 365-euro ticket to students who live too close to schools to require transportation.
This involves 22 children.
With a vote of 12:10, the city council canceled this voluntary service.
In response to a corresponding objection from Eva Pfister, Patrick Janik explained that the continued existence of the company's own school buses would be discussed when it came to the new tender.
teenagers
The international youth camp with young people from Dinard will be financed with 5,000 euros this year, but no more from next year.
From next year onwards, the budget for the middle school student exchange with the Italian Marzabotto (13,000 euros) will only be granted in individual cases.
Partnerships
The budget for the partnership with the submarine Delta will be reduced to 3,750 euros from 2025 (previously 5,000 euros), that for the partnership with Dinard to 28,500 euros (previously 38,000 euros).
Events
The Christmas market will be shortened to four days again - as in previous years - after it last lasted eleven days.
60,000 euros are available for this instead of 105,000 euros last year.
The “Starnberg moves” day of action is canceled, at least as far as the city is concerned.
The night of the long table (24,000 euros) and the music on the city beach (6,000 euros) take place.
The city council had already decided on the continuation of the cultural summer two weeks ago (we reported).
The debate ended on Thursday, but the consolidation concept had not yet been fully discussed.
On Monday, February 19th, the next round will begin - again in public.
Then it will be about the daycare fees again, about savings measures for the city council itself and other options.