On Wednesday last week, the most recent meeting of the Dernbach municipal council took place. Our group Together for Dernbach This time, too, he has been involved and accompanied some important issues critically, but constructively. Here is an overview of the items on the agenda:
Item 1: Announcement of non-public decisions
The mayor informed about two decisions from the non-public part. Both concern property matters.
Item 2: Budget 2025
A key issue was the 2025 budget. As the mayor explained, this is not balanced. The main reasons are upcoming investments and increased expenses, especially for the day care centre, which is run by the Diocese of Limburg. The increased payments are retroactive and affect several municipalities.
The focus was on the following investment items, among others:
- €663,250 for land purchases in the new construction area Cap garden. Some of these investments are to be more than counterfinanced by subsequent land sales.
- Expansion of Ebernhahner Straße in the area of the future Norma-Markts (walking path, crossing aid, turning lane).
- Participation in Martin-Luther-Straße (extension to Dernbach area), which has already been expanded by the city of Wirges.
- Creation of the Friedgarten, which could be implemented more cost-effectively through own contribution and donations.
- Setting up an emergency meeting point, in particular by means of an emergency generator. A grant of €7,500 was granted for this purpose. The discussion revolved, among other things, around the question of which equipment an emergency meeting point should at least have (e.g. heat supply), with the mayor stressing that no high quality of stay is foreseen.
Another point was the second purchase price for the community centre.
Our group welcomed the planned investments in principle, but called for a careful assessment of the financial situation. Manuel emphasized that the upholstery built in recent years has now been largely used up. It is true that around €100,000 per year is left for investment – a positive aspect. At the same time, it pointed to possible risks, such as if expected revenues (e.g. from land sales) were lower. A conscious use of the available resources therefore remains important.
Item 3: Tax rates 2025
The background of the consultation was the real estate tax reform, through which Dernbach will in future be around €54,000 less revenue has to expect. To compensate for this decline, the property tax would have to be increased by about 100 percentage points. However, the mayor proposed to wait for further development first.
Stefan Görg pointed out that differentiated lifting rates – e.g. for undeveloped land – are also possible and thus the aim can be pursued to close building gaps more quickly. This variant was rejected by the CDU faction with inconsistent arguments about a possible increase (heirs would be burdened). This is despite the fact that – just under a year ago – she was the only political group to have voted in favour of such a model herself. There was also talk of not putting more money into the pockets of citizens, which is not comprehensible in the context of the decline in revenue. The CDU group leader also referred to an increase a few years ago and spoke out against a further increase.
Manuel criticized the waiting so far and the contradictory reasoning: The amount of a revenue-neutral increase had already been known since the end of last year and forward-looking planning would have been appropriate. The non-adjustment of the rates de facto means that the municipality's financial room for manoeuvre is noticeably reduced. Ultimately, it was decided by a majority to leave the lifting rates unchanged for the time being. There were four abstentions.
Item 4: Amendment of the Cemetery Fee Regulations
The cemetery fee regulations have been adapted to reflect the newly created possibility of urn graves in the Friedgarten. The mayor presented the planned fees orally (approximately €800) and compared them with other municipalities of the Verbandsgemeinde. He stated that the administration could not have prepared a cost calculation in time.
Stefan and Roswitha criticized in particular the lack of written draft resolution and short-term information. Unlike the CDU parliamentary group, Together for Dernbach had not been informed in advance. Especially when it comes to a sensitive topic such as funeral fees and a change in the statutes, we consider transparent and sufficient preparation to be essential.
As far as the matter was concerned, we considered a moderate fee to be acceptable in principle. Manuel pointed out that no funeral form is cost-covering and a reasonable orientation value makes sense.
Despite these concerns, the amendment to the statutes was adopted unanimously; There were two abstentions.
Item 5: Photovoltaic system for the nursery
The planned photovoltaic system on the roof of the day care center was unanimously approved. The planned self-consumption makes the project economically viable in the long term – profitability is currently estimated to be achieved after about 11 years. Funding is also expected. A future agreement with the kindergarten for the use of the generated electricity is conceivable.
Item 6: Population Question Hour
A resident suggested posthumously appointing a deceased person as an honorary citizen of Dernbach. The mayor accepted the proposal and announced that he would discuss the matter with relatives.
Item 7: Communications and enquiries
In the last part of the meeting, several topical issues were raised:
- Fibre optic expansion: The course so far has been critically commented on. The delays continue and the execution is partial and still deficient. The mayor announced that he would check with the relevant authorities. Since it is a self-employed project of Vodafone, according to the VG administration, there are only limited rights of intervention.
- Level crossing main road: The road surface should be repaired if the train traffic is suspended due to construction work. The state authority for mobility has not yet given any feedback on this.
- Photo mountain: This is to be used again as a photo location. According to a request, the vegetation should also be removed and the wall painted.
- Invasive plant species Hercules perennial: It was announced that possible countermeasures are under consideration.
- Industrial area: An associate asked about remaining development opportunities. The administration is examining the situation.
- Noise pollution from railway announcements: One member of the Council was critical of this.
- Access road Grillhütte: When asked by a council member, the mayor admitted that the path serves as a rescue access to the emergency exit of the ICE tunnel.
conclusion
The meeting once again showed: Dernbach faces significant challenges, both financially and infrastructurally. Our group Together for Dernbach will continue to work to ensure that decisions are well prepared, comprehensible and made for the benefit of all citizens. We see open communication and early involvement of all political groups as a central prerequisite for functioning community work.
English (UK)