After the million-dollar extra demands of the red-green-red town hall cooperation, there is sharp criticism from the CDU. Their parliamentary group leader Matthias Finken spoke to the PNN at the weekend of chaos, Mayor Mike Schubert (SPD) no longer seems to be in control of the procedure for the controversial double budget 2023/2024.
From Finken’s point of view, the cooperation partners ignored the warnings and explanations from Treasurer Burkhard Exner (SPD): “You have to ask yourself whether the situation is really that tense.” In addition, the opposition in the town hall submitted their applications by May 2, but the cooperation announced only ten days later via press conference. “We’re not a two-class society.”
At the same time, Finken criticized that the administration’s amendments had only been announced for the end of the month. And he threatened: “If the mayor wants to get broad approval for the budget, he has to come up with something. In any case, that’s not how it works.” Joint deliberations of all parliamentary groups with a joint search for compromises are actually a democratic part of the process. The CDU man Willo Göpel criticized via Facebook that the cooperation was ruining Potsdam’s city finances.
The alliance made extensive demands on Schubert public on Friday. Among other things, a nine-euro local transport ticket for schoolchildren is to be financed, as well as a cover for the exploding costs of a school meal. More climate and tree protection measures were also part of the package, which totaled well over ten million euros. All of this is to be financed, among other things, with surpluses from the 2020 and 2021 budgets, hoped-for additional income from taxes and the regulatory office and, if necessary, reserves.
The head of the town hall, Schubert, had shown himself willing to talk – but also made it clear that other areas might have to save even more for the financing. Details are not yet known.
However, according to Treasurer Exner, Potsdam is threatened with a serious budget crisis. He assumes a deficit of around 200 million euros by the end of 2027 – this would probably use up Potsdam’s three-digit million reserves. Reasons are, among other things, the millions in costs for the clinic, the wage increase in the public sector, the additional school places required and the planned refugee accommodation. That is why the city leaders are planning to launch an austerity program from 2024, which could be decided a few months before the local elections in early next summer. This is about 24 million euros, which are to be spent less each year than previously planned.
It is unfortunate that the city of Potsdam is initially rejecting climate protection when building in Potsdam.
Denny Ohnesorge, Chairman of the Berlin-Brandenburg State Wood Advisory Board
According to Schubert, an initiative he favored for more timber construction in Potsdam, for which he wanted to set up a separate department in the town hall, is to be postponed. But there is also criticism of the decision. “It is unfortunate that the city of Potsdam is initially rejecting climate protection when building in Potsdam,” said Denny Ohnesorge, the head of the Berlin-Brandenburg State Advisory Council for Wood, the PNN. Time is of the essence. “Potsdam wants to become climate-neutral and currently has no alternative to saving CO2 in construction other than building more with wood,” says Ohnesorge. The serial and prefabricated construction with wood is also an answer for the quick construction of urgently needed schools and accommodation for refugees.
Ohnesorge announced that it would support the city of Potsdam with a timber construction task force despite the postponement of the project. The wood industry lobbyist is referring to the HC2B project for a wood construction cluster in Berlin-Brandenburg, which is being funded by the State Ministry for the Environment and is scheduled to start in January. “We will begin to implement the memorandum for the city’s timber construction and support the city and the Potsdam construction industry in building more with wood and thus in a more climate-friendly manner,” said Ohnesorge.
The accusation: Greenwashing in the household
Criticism came at the end of last week – when the cooperation package was not yet known – from several initiatives that are committed to more climate protection in Potsdam. Their spokeswoman Anne Ulrich announced that investments in climate protection were insufficient. Furthermore, the city hall itself rated the operating cost subsidy for local public transport in the amount of 22 million euros as a climate protection measure, was the criticism. There was talk of so-called greenwashing – i.e. pseudo-climate protection. Thomas Vogt from “Scientists for Future” explained: “Potsdam is great at formulating non-binding goals for climate protection and then postponing measures for years.”
However, the new package of demands from the cooperation includes 3.5 million euros more for the said student ticket, but also for a climate protection fund that has grown to 200,000 euros, better cycle paths and more green maintenance.
