Budget speech: SPD

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear representatives of the press
Dear employees of the administration
Dear Administrative Board,
Dear Mr Mayor
Dear members of the Bocholt City Council,

A city full of possibilities.
A city full of opportunities.
That is our Bocholt.

Bocholt can be described - and we have repeatedly emphasised this in the past - as a "centre with an upper-centrist function" in western Münsterland. And that means that, although our city has just over 72,000 inhabitants, we have a central role to play in the region.

- No major city takes over our tasks,
- No metropolis in our immediate neighbourhood relieves us of this obligation.

The fact that we are the "centre for a region" also means that we have to take on tasks for others and create offers for the region. This makes Bocholt a city full of special challenges - which have to be solved, especially today, in a difficult environment. But this is nothing new for Bocholt! Generations of councillors before us have repeatedly mastered these tasks in similar situations - with courage and confidence.

Not for the first time, it is the task of the council elected by the citizens as their representatives in an environment of multiple and overlapping crises to steer the fate of the city and organise the future - without remaining like a rabbit in front of a snake. At this point, I would like to remind you of a time when a major economic crisis, a huge energy crisis, inflation of over 7% and social upheaval made the future similarly uncertain. I am talking about the early 1970s.

Then as now, the general conditions were or are comparable and not happy, to put it mildly: Bocholt had to cope with the loss of many thousands of jobs triggered by the crisis in the textile industry at the end of the 1960s/beginning of the 1970s, had to reorganise the city's economic structure and manage an education reform.

And all this and much more had to be tackled against the backdrop of increasingly scarce financial resources. Our predecessors managed to do this for a good five decades. We are still drawing on their achievements today and covering the budget gap from the equalisation reserve.

Our predecessors gave the city a new face and a future with clever and, at the time, controversial decisions. Now we are once again facing such a milestone for our Bocholt - a milestone that will hopefully not be an "imperceptible barrier" for any member of this council.

For us Social Democrats, courage and confidence for decisions in the future means acting responsibly for Bocholt - but it does not mean calling for untested pipe dreams such as an open-air swimming pool on Lake Aa or a youth centre in a building that is not structurally suitable. There is no room for an untested, utopian mirage. Such projects are pure populism.

Instead, "courage and confidence" means developing a realistic plan of what is necessary and possible and making it the basis for action. In this legislative period, we here in the Council are working under the impact of climate change and the demands it has triggered:

1. energy transition: We have to adapt our BEW to the requirements of a new energy supply,
2. transport infrastructure: transport concepts need to be rethought, and attention must be paid to the expansion of public transport modes through the expansion of timetables:
- Fewer cars does not mean no cars,
- more buses and trains does not just mean these. Well-developed public transport will increasingly become an aspect of services of general interest - also in the cycling city of Bocholt.
3. greenhouse gas emissions: These must be reduced, especially in public buildings.

A changing global economic order must also be taken into account. The previous system of a transatlantic centre with the USA and Europe at the economic core and the rest of the world on the periphery is changing fundamentally. Where does Bocholt fit in? We have not been a farming town for a century. Economic development must therefore not be limited to selling land; let's nurture our "Hidden Champions" and offer their employees and skilled workers a great city!

All of this is well known, discussed and received.

And yet it is important to emphasise this once again in order to explain why the SPD parliamentary group will be voting in favour of Bocholt's 2024 budget, as it contains many aspects that point in the right direction. After a lot of planning at the beginning of this legislative period, we are on the right track with the renovation of the Bürger:Innenzentrum at Berliner Platz. Bocholt will have a highly energy-efficient civic centre with a functional theatre that complies with building regulations, a canteen for the adjoining grammar school, a civic centre office, a conference centre that can also be used by clubs, a restaurant on the River Aa AND a modern administrative wing that improves processes.

Ladies and gentlemen, administration belongs in the centre of society, the town hall function in the centre of the city. And we can realise all of the above in a fantastic building that is rightly a listed building because of its epoch-making architecture - its architecture.
- This is not a nuisance for our city, it is a stroke of luck!
- Council members made the right decisions in the 1970s!
- All the above-mentioned functions under one roof - that's how a shoe becomes a shoe. The sum of the parts is democracy in action. A house at the service of the citizens!

Each part, each function on its own would not be economical. If we were to try to cover all of these functions with new and replacement buildings, it would require far more than €130 million, as shown by the profitability calculation at the beginning of the legislative period over two years ago. Who could want that?

What's more, in the 800-year-old city of Bocholt with its overarching function in the region, the citizens have a right to representation. Bocholt is not an ugly duckling! The city has every right to be proud, but not arrogant. This is also demonstrated by a glass citizens' centre at Berliner Platz. We won't get anywhere with square and therefore practical if we want to develop flair. And without that, we're nothing more than a dingy provincial town on the edge of the federal territory. And what professional would choose such a place to live and work if they could?

And yes, new school buildings - from the Euregio to the primary school extension with upper secondary schools, the refurbishment of the secondary and intermediate schools - will also cost money. The digitalisation of education also costs a lot of money - but what would be the alternative? This council has shown courage by committing to taking the digitalisation of schools into our own hands and investing large six-figure sums in hardware, software and support staff over the next few years.

The city is thus sending out a strong signal. Yes, we members of the SPD would have liked to have seen a much better social component here and, like the daycare centre fees, would have offered significantly more discounts for families with many children and low incomes. We are not giving up on this project!

The SPD parliamentary group is pleased that at the meeting of the main and finance committee discussing the budget, it was possible to clearly and unequivocally reject the demands of some to wind up the neighbourhood work. Ladies and gentlemen, such projects may be voluntary services, but they contribute to coexistence in our city. Social projects may have the title "voluntary" and cost money, but they are economical in many ways.

After all, prevention is much cheaper than reaction - and not just in financial terms. Supporting clubs, especially those like SC TuB Mussum 1926, which has made integrative sport a central objective of the club, is also worth mentioning here. Vibrant clubs - not just one, but many - not just in sport, but in many other areas - from theatre to societies of people with a migration background - together with the great voluntary commitment, make life in the city colourful and are the cement of society. Who would want to take away their grants?

That is why, ladies and gentlemen, this speech is also the place to emphasise support for a society that is committed to the common good and supports people in special circumstances. It should be undisputed in this House: "Innovative social competence" is in demand. Bocholt needs a functioning development company and at least a share in a housing association. And it is not we Social Democrats who have sold off the city's housing stock.

In both cases, there is still a long way to go and thick boards to drill - but we have set out to clean up and improve many things.

Ladies and gentlemen, in a budget with such a huge deficit, with this enormous erosion of liquidity, it is necessary to become fundamental. The old middle class, which seemed to have no social and cultural alternative in the industrial modern age, is coming under pressure in the overlapping and mutually fuelling crises. Employment is changing, demands on education are changing, qualification requirements are reshaping themselves. Old dreams and life models have to be abandoned. Demographics and an ageing society are taking their toll. This must give us food for thought.

How do we provide the right impetus for our economy? We attract skilled labour when the living conditions in the city are not just good, but excellently developed. Because the hard-working hands and clever minds can choose where they want to live. From day-care centres to secondary schools - Bocholt was well positioned here, but needs to improve quickly to get back to where we were in the noughties. The SPD has repeatedly put its finger in the wounds in supposedly successful reports, which the administration now also recognises. Let's be clear: together we have made progress here too, but we need to step up the pace enormously.

Sufficient daycare places and a closure of the funding gap that has arisen, which is a burden on its providers, sufficient schools according to the motto "short legs, short distances" are only sufficient. The so-called "soft location factors" have long since become hard factors in the competition between local authorities. That is why it is right and important to invest in the city centre. But simply pouring money into events is not enough. We should be honest with ourselves and act according to the motto "Event may attract, but substance binds."

But commitment secures trade. It's like average speed, accelerating to 180 every now and then to get stuck behind the next lorry doesn't make you any faster over the distance. And creating "substance" means that the heart of the city must be home to the cultural institutions. The historic heart of the city is the market square in front of the Renaissance town hall. The opportunity to house the city museum, the Kunsthaus and the city archives in synergy as a modern cultural centre at Markt 8 and the adjoining properties is a historic opportunity - to upgrade the city centre and bring footfall to it. All it needs is a bit of will!

On behalf of the SPD, I would like to, but will not, go into the subject of "Nordring" in detail. Just this much: the SPD continues to oppose the transport-related DINO, but agrees to the development of new residential areas in the west. This means that there is considerable potential for savings. I would like to argue in favour of the SPD, but I won't, on the subject of the industrial railway line. Just this much: if we don't want to miss the boat on the transport turnaround for our economy and want to genuinely promote the economy, this project has considerable development potential and, if we are quick, a huge locational advantage.

Ladies and gentlemen, "affordable housing", "strong economy", "investment in education" and "strengthening cohesion", "accommodation and care for refugees", "regulated migration", "integration of both groups", "fulfilment of the all-day requirement in schools from 2026" We need to tackle all of this and much more, we still have a lot to do and that doesn't just mean funding.

Let us ask ourselves: do we still need the narrowly defined claims of local government, which is almost jealously orientated towards the boundaries of the specialist departments? Do we not need agile team structures instead? Can we use them to create the flexibility we will need in the future? This is how the SPD sees it.

Nobody should be under the illusion that we will find enough employees in the administration in the future. All the leading organisations have been warning for years that local authorities and public administrations in particular will have a huge problem with skilled workers - and this means that we must not only look at staffing plans from a fiscal point of view, but above all according to the possibility of bringing people together in cross-functional teams in order to master the tasks at hand.

Many employees and civil servants will retire or be retired in the next ten years. A great deal of expertise will be lost with them - this must be absorbed. And one way to do this is to recruit new employees now and create alternative working models. Everyone involved in construction in the administration in the broadest sense is already groaning. Cutting jobs will not help. And that doesn't just apply to those directly affected. It also applies to the neighbouring ones: Who is supposed to adequately determine the needs, who is supposed to manage the finances?

But because it's also about money, the SPD is pleased that our motion in the HFA was followed to use the coming year intensively and across party lines to discuss our city's finances constructively and regularly and to find solutions to the structural deficit. And even if people don't like to talk about taxes, they are also part of the truth of a municipal budget. If you pay taxes, you can also expect a lot for the common good of the city. But the "Wish for something, it'll work" procedure that has been in place in Bocholt for so long has no future.

Let's sit down together to sound out financial realisation possibilities and not suffocate in a year of distribution battles. That will also lead to conflicts. However, especially in a municipality, conflicts in the political arena should be seen as an opportunity. As an opportunity to draw attention to issues, as a chance to change positions in order to move into the future with greater strength.

It will not be a question of seeing how we can demand measures that can be utilised for party political purposes. No, it will rather be about developing attitudes and guidelines on how we - and at best together - plan forward-looking budgets now and for the coming years and implement these plans effectively. The following should apply: Making changes to plans during the year and simply authorising significant additional expenditure in the HFA and Council must be a thing of the past. This way of approving many expenses during the year - sometimes €400,000 here, sometimes €250,000 there for measures not approved in the budget - is practised far too often.

This is the worst case scenario for financial management based on responsibility and consideration.

In conclusion: Sincere thanks are due to the administration and in particular the treasury. They have established a really good system for submitting applications and working through them effectively in the budget negotiations. Thanks also for a year of good co-operation!
One last sentence: We members of the Council in particular are all called upon to make it clear that there is no simple solution! Municipal tasks are complex and need to be considered in a networked way - in the spirit of a "self-conscious medium-sized centre with an upper-centrist function" for an entire region.

Let us act as our obligation demands of us and as urban and rural Bocholt deserves: Bocholt is a proud city with a high quality of life in the centre of a Europe that is growing together.

Thank you for your attention!