Budget speech: FDP

Dear Mr Mayor,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

You will no doubt be surprised that I am waiving my democratic right and will not be presenting my budget speech. As always, the speech will be published and attached to the minutes. I would like to save time. Because saving is the word of the hour. There is no willingness to do so, instead we lose ourselves in eloquent, hour-long discussions and equally long meetings. Voluntary services remain untouched and uncut, the proposals of the FDP parliamentary group were shot down, portrayed as anti-social, unsustainable and anti-European.

We see it differently, our budget simply cannot continue to swallow it. They are leading us into budget uncertainty and soon only cash loans will be able to save us. The fat years are over and then we will have to cut or stop supposedly good but voluntary things and rethink them. There can be no simple "continue like this!

Dear Mr Schmidt, when discussing the budget proposals in the HFA, you spoke dozens of times about guard rails. Only someone speeding through the fog at top speed needs crash barriers. What we need is a lane departure warning system and that is a balanced budget. We don't recognise the courage and will to make savings. But many other things also leave us stunned: The town hall refurbishment is a pitiful bottomless pit, the political decisions late after 9 pm after 4 hours of intensive meetings are scandalous!

An adjournment is suggested and recommended in advance by email and then the CDU and SPD decide to rush through the decision at the council meeting. Our motions to postpone were ridiculed and shot down by fellow councillors as an act of defiance. Ladies and gentlemen, this arrogance of power is not only driving Bocholt to financial ruin, but is also fuelling the already great political disenchantment among the Bocholt population and also in the parliamentary groups.

We need honest politics instead of showcase motions such as the CDU motion "Transparency and communication in refugee accommodation from 5 December 2023. Dear Mr Bresser, the CDU got us into this mess at federal level ("We can do it") and instead of solving the problem, a superfluous dashboard and a controlling department should first check and publish the figures ... We all know that the municipalities can no longer cope with the wave of refugees, so it doesn't help to know where the people seeking protection are coming from ... "No, I don't want to" was not a helpful and honest statement either.

A symbol of the dubious decisions in Bocholt was the design of the Sunday of Lights - once again, candle shells were distributed around the city instead of installing colourful and contemporary LED illuminations. The result is well known: numerous helpers tried in vain to light the candles and keep them burning in the wind and rain. Incidentally, the same problems as last year. The renewed and deliberate decision against the ice rink at the Christmas market can only be laughed at with a shake of the head. Almost all Christmas markets have an ice rink as a centre of attraction for young and old, but the climate municipality of Bocholt is outing itself as a party pooper and once again depriving children and families, as well as school classes, of a popular attraction. We are happy to do the maths and show you the ecological madness of this decision:

In warm weather, the consumption of an ice rink is 0.8 khw per square metre
The ice rink in Bocholt had 400 square metres
This corresponds to 320 kwh per day
The CO2 share is 400gr per kwh
= 128,000 grams of CO2 per day from the ice rink

For comparison: A combustion engine needs approx. 120 gr CO2 per km
128,000 grams of CO2 are therefore sufficient for approx. 1,067 km in a combustion engine

The distance to the ice rink in Essen is approx. 130 km there and back
-> If only 9 cars drive to the ice rink in Essen, the CO2 footprint is just as large as if an entire ice rink were maintained in Bocholt

With this dubious and wrong decision, the city centre is being recklessly weakened. Incidentally, the same phenomenon was observed with the closing times of the attractions/slides at Bahia. Afterwards, you had to agree with us: No slides, no visitors in the fun-less fun pool. Bocholt's city centre does not need any further concepts or umbrella brand strategies.

No, the city centre needs attractions, places to spend time, art in public spaces and simply fun - the visitor numbers due to the celebrations for the 800th anniversary of the city confirm this demonstrably.

It is with regret and resignation that we have to accept the numerous departures of employees in management positions. Alleged grievances or a lack of prospects in the administration must be named and clarified. We must realise that the dissolution of the Personnel Committee was a big mistake. Labour structures and jobs are also becoming increasingly important in the administration. The shortage of skilled labour and the simultaneous explosion in personnel costs make a structural analysis unavoidable. We must create digital structures or continue to implement them quickly in order to free up resources for other tasks.

But there are also positive developments in the past 2023 financial year: The asphalted circuit around Lake Aa has been a complete success and is already popular with cyclists and inline skaters - what is still missing now is the subsequent banishment of the Red Ash and asphalted connection from Lowick to Lake Aa. The redesign and upgrading of the Aasee lake has finally been decided. The citizens of Bocholt have a right to sensible and modern local recreation areas - as other cities have already successfully demonstrated.

The senior citizens' fair on Neutorplatz was a complete success this year and confirms the good planning and design of Neutorplatz as a multifunctional square. The next highlight on Neutorplatz will be "Bocholt sings in Advent!". In contrast, the online platform Emiigo has failed by Bocholt's retailers, but has also been approached in the wrong way.

Our application to abandon the city lock was also recklessly rejected. We could have taken a bold and invigorating step for Bocholt's city centre with the green ribbon of the Aa riverbed. The possibilities and effects can be impressively experienced live in the Sesekepark in Kamen.

In the last few weeks, you can see the increasing euphoria throughout Bocholt, there is finally a positive topic of conversation in the city centre again. Bocholters are once again flocking to the Hünting to cheer on the 1. FC Bocholt team, regardless of club affiliation. Before and after the game, you can meet fans from out of town, whether in the city centre, in the restaurants or even in the Bahia. This added value is a great benefit for the whole of Bocholt and justifies the financial contribution, despite all the appeals for thriftiness. The FDP parliamentary group is prepared to support the stadium rebuild with up to 5 million euros, with 50% own funds, and a joint stadium operating company (50% club and 50% city) is also conceivable for us.

We now have the opportunity to jointly create a foundation for professional football and appeal to the Bocholt administration not to start land-use planning, as this is not mandatory (Paragraph 34 and 35 BauGB). Another positive effect: open-air concerts etc. will also be able to benefit from the planned remodelling.

The municipal property strategy is not plausible for the FDP parliamentary group; buying more and more and not keeping an eye on the rat's tail of follow-up costs is negligent and dubious. The FDP parliamentary group therefore rejects the budget. We need a spirit of optimism and the courage to embrace change - something we feel is lacking in politics and administration, which is why we are voting against the budget.

I wish you all a peaceful and reflective Christmas and time to pause for thought, as well as all the best for 2024.

Burkhard Henneken
Chairman of the FDP Bocholt parliamentary group