Minutes of the citizens' meeting of the entire city on November 19, 2024

Lord Mayor Dr. Florian Janik welcomes the citizens present to the citizens' assembly of the entire city and then refers to the general, usual rules.
The Lord Mayor also welcomes the members of the City Council and the employees of the city administration, introduces those present on the podium and explains their respective areas of responsibility.
Furthermore, Lord Mayor Dr. Florian Janik reports that, according to the provisions of the municipal code (Art. 18 GO), the recommendations and concerns of the citizens must be dealt with within three months by the City Council, the committee or, in the case of ongoing matters, by the administration, depending on the responsibility.
At 8:08 p.m., he gave the floor to Mr. Beugel to present the current budget situation.

1. budgetary situation

Mr. Beugel, Head of Economic and Financial Affairs, gave a presentation on the current budget situation. Questions and answers from the citizens regarding the presentation:

Who is responsible for this crisis? Why was there no better communication with the companies?

Consultant for Economy and Finance, Mr. Beugel:
There was and is constant communication with the companies. According to the tax assessment notices, everything went according to plan until September 1, 2024. However, the City of Erlangen acted as early as June 2024 on the basis of information provided through communication with a company.

Why has there been a large increase in personnel in recent years? Why has the budget volume increased so much?

Consultant for Economics and Finance, Mr. Beugel:
The federal government and the Free State have passed on more and more tasks to the municipalities. For this reason, the city administration was obliged to create many new jobs. Some new positions are also politically desirable.

Legal, Personnel and Digitalization Officer, Mr Ternes:
One reason for the increase in the budget volume is the pay rises. The City of Erlangen also generally does not work with fixed-term employment contracts, as this does not correspond to the employer brand of the city administration.

In 2023, there were already headlines in the news that Siemens Healthineers AG was experiencing a massive drop in sales. Why was this not taken into account?

Consultant for Economics and Finance, Mr. Beugel:
The headlines at the time were information about the trade balance, which applies worldwide. The assessment notices that the City of Erlangen receives are based on the tax balance sheet, which only applies within national borders. In order to obtain information beyond the tax balance sheet, contact is sought with the companies.

Are reserves still being formed in Erlangen?

Consultant for Economy and Finance, Mr. Beugel:
The city has a revenue reserve of € 270 million, which is shown in the balance sheet. There is also an account balance, so-called free liquidity, amounting to just under €100 million. This balance will now be used up. At the end of the year, the company will have to manage with existing cash loans.

Is the ZAM (Zentrum für Austausch und Machen, Betreiberverein ZAM e.V.) at risk due to the current budget situation?

Ms. Steinert-Neuwirth, Head of Culture, Education and Leisure:
The ZAM is not at risk. There is a lot of voluntary commitment behind it. However, there will be a reduction in services.

2. costs ZAM (Center for Exchange and Making, operating association ZAM e.V.)

The citizens question the costs of the ZAM.

Officer for Culture, Education and Leisure, Ms. Steinert-Neuwirth:
In 2023, the City of Erlangen subsidized the ZAM with around €800,000. In 2024, the subsidy amounted to €555,000. In the coming year, around € 600,000 is expected to flow in. This includes personnel costs, rental costs for the building and construction costs.

3. livestreaming / recordings of city council meetings and citizens' meetings

It is suggested that livestreaming and recordings of budget speeches, city council meetings and citizens' meetings be reinstated and expanded. Why is data protection regulated differently at municipal level?

Lord Mayor, Dr. Janik:
In the opinion of the municipal data protection officers, it is not permissible to permanently store recordings of meetings. This violates the individual data protection rights of city councillors. Previous livestreams of city council meetings have shown that the number of viewers is very low. The topic will be discussed at the next meeting of the Main, Finance and Personnel Committee.

Legal, Personnel and Digitalization Officer, Mr Ternes:
Data protection is not regulated differently across municipalities. A distinction must be made between live streaming and storage. Only storage is problematic in terms of data protection law. According to the prevailing opinion of the State Data Protection Commissioner, storage is not permitted.

REQUEST
The reinstatement and expansion of live streaming of City Council meetings and the recording of budget speeches is requested.
The motion was put to the vote and approved by a majority.

4. siren audibility All at Röthelheimpark

It is reported that the siren is difficult to hear in the apartments.

Mayor, Mr. Volleth:
The nearest siren is on the Adalbert-Stifter-Schule. There were technical difficulties with this siren during the last two test alarms. These have since been rectified by a specialist company. The city administration is working on successively expanding the siren locations in the city.

5. cycle path Alle am Röthelheimpark

It is suggested that the one-way street regulation for cyclists be changed, as it is often misused. In addition, the existing markings are very faded.

Planning and Building Officer, Mr. Lang:
There are a lot of entrances and exits in this area. In order to ensure safety, it is not possible to remove the one-way street regulation. The faded markings are known to the responsible department. The planned re-marking will take place in spring when temperatures are suitable.

6. road surface renewal on Möhrendorfer Straße

Drivers often disregard and overtake cyclists, thus endangering road safety. It is proposed that a crosswalk be built at the corner of Lerchenbühl and Möhrendorfer Straße.

Lord Mayor, Dr. Janik:
The road is too narrow to set up a protective strip. The installation of a speed reduction is not yet legally permissible.

Planning and Building Officer, Mr. Lang:
There is a need for a road surface renewal in Möhrendorfer Straße. The road was also included in the road surface renewal program. However, due to the current financial situation, this is not feasible at present. The volume of traffic in Möhrendorfer Straße is too high to install a crosswalk. A traffic light system for pedestrians can also only be examined and possibly implemented as soon as sufficient funding is available.

7. connection of the eastern district to public bus transport

Bus route 284 should continue to run on the detour route from summer 2024 with an additional stop in Schleifmühlstraße. The detour route was active during the construction site at the Drausnickstraße / Sieglitzhofer Straße junction in summer 2024.

Erlanger Stadtwerke AG, Ms. Angerer:
This detour is difficult to implement during normal traffic operations. Discussions are currently taking place between the City of Erlangen's transport planning office and Erlanger Stadtwerke AG to ensure better bus connections in this area.

REQUEST
A permanent bus stop is requested in Schleifmühlstraße.
The motion was put to the vote and approved by a majority.

8. annual disclosure of the expenses of the Stadt-Umland-Bahn special-purpose association

It is not possible for the citizens of Erlangen to gain insight into the expenditure structures of the Zweckverband Stadt-Umland-Bahn.

Lord Mayor, Dr. Janik:
Meetings of the StUB special-purpose association are open to the public. The budget statutes and the meeting report are published in the official gazette of Middle Franconia. There is also a right to request information from the special-purpose association. All data that must be published is published in the official gazette of the government of Middle Franconia.

REQUEST
The annual disclosure of the expenses of the Zweckverband Stadt-Umland-Bahn as publicly accessible information is requested.
The motion was put to the vote and approved by a majority.

9. creation of a citizens' advisory council for the special-purpose association Stadt-Umland-Bahn

The creation of a citizens' advisory council for the StUB is proposed as a measure for active citizen participation and to achieve transparency in the project.

Lord Mayor, Dr. Janik:
There is already a dialog forum where random citizens* accompany the project from the beginning and all citizens* can participate and ask questions at any time. There are also local forums, digital and live meetings and discussions with stakeholders. In addition, the Stadt-Umland-Bahn project has already received several national awards for outstanding citizen participation.

MOTION
The creation of a citizens' advisory board for the Stadt-Umland-Bahn special-purpose association is requested.
The motion was put to the vote and rejected by a majority.

10. bicycle parking at the main station

The necessary steps are to be taken to restore the safe usability of the bicycle parking facilities as quickly as possible and then to guarantee this in the long term.

Officer for Legal Affairs, Human Resources and Digitalization, Mr Ternes:
Promises to look into the issue.

MOTION
It is proposed that the necessary steps be taken to restore the safe usability of the bicycle parking facilities as quickly as possible.
The motion was put to the vote and approved by a majority.

11. barrier-free expansion of bus stops

A question was asked as to why not all stops in Erlangen have been made barrier-free as required by law. In particular, the following stops are suggested for expansion: Arcaden, Hauptbahnhof, Hugenottenplatz, Roncallistift and Wohnstift Rathsberg

Lord Mayor, Dr. Janik:
The Free State of Bavaria has issued a should and not a must regulation. The city of Erlangen is using the funding program to expand barrier-free bus stops. The complete conversion of the bus stops will take a few more years.

Erlanger Stadtwerke AG, Ms. Angerer:
This year, the bus stops at Bruck Kirche, Neuses and Wallenrodstraße were upgraded to be barrier-free. The city of Erlangen maintains a priority list according to which the stops are successively upgraded to make them barrier-free.

12. north-south cycle path connection at Schlossplatz

It is requested that the north-south cycle path connection at Schlossplatz be restored.

Referent for planning and construction, Mr. Lang:
The issue is currently already being clarified with the administration.

MOTION
It is requested that the north-south cycle path connection at Schlossplatz be restored.
The motion was put to the vote and approved by a majority.

13. marking of Steinforstgraben

There are no markings (separating pedestrian and cycle paths) on Steinforstgraben as far as Odenwaldallee.

Lord Mayor, Dr. Janik:
A promise is made to look into the issue.

After there were no more requests to speak, Lord Mayor Dr. Florian Janik ended the citizens' assembly at 10:45 p.m. and thanked the citizens for the discussion and their commitment.

on behalf of
signed.
Mayor's Office and Press Office