Nossen. Closed bridges, no money for schools and clubs. Chamberlain Kerstin Blawitzki painted a gloomy picture for next year during the budget discussion at the last city council meeting. And with this mortgage, the newly elected mayor Christian Bartusch (SPD) starts his office. The initial conditions could hardly be worse. When asked that he could only lose at first, Bartusch replied: “Yes.” Initially, only things can be implemented that are not associated with any special additional costs. That is why the closeness to the citizens he promised is very important. “Especially in times of crisis. And by that I don’t mean Corona, but the budget. ”The municipality has a financing problem. But not until next year. The bottleneck already existed for 2020.
There are various reasons for this. “Corona is not the problem. It’s a structural problem. ”The costs for childcare in day-care centers have continued to rise. That also depends on the care key. The preparation and follow-up time in the facilities also cost a lot of money, “which is not offset one-to-one by the country. That eats up the income, ”explains the 33-year-old, emphasizing that all of this is important.
Another problem is the large area of Nossen, almost 123 square kilometers, and the associated large infrastructure. Roads and bridges are in need of renovation. “We have to be careful that we don’t get even bigger problems. Because not every county road remains one, ”says Bartusch. “There has been an investment backlog from the past few years.”
Financial problems cannot be solved in the short term
Nevertheless, the new mayor does not speak badly everything that his predecessor Uwe Anke (non-party) has done or not done in the past 14 years. “He also achieved a lot. But it also leaves construction sites behind, ”says Bartusch. This is what he calls, among other things, the new sports hall at the Nossener Oberschule, which was twice as expensive as originally planned. The additional costs cannot be financed through subsidies. “In the future, Nossen will no longer be able to afford such things.”
But how can the precarious financial situation be resolved? “There are various adjusting screws, as Mr. Anke said in the last city council meeting.” But, explains Bartusch, “these only work in the medium and long term.” The new mayor wants to first examine which adjusting screws that could be and then participate the chamberlain.
One of the first topics that the new town hall chief wants to implement is improving communication. With city councils and citizens. And that doesn’t cost any money. A city-owned Facebook account is already in the pipeline. The council information system is also to be implemented so that draft resolutions with justifications are available to all citizens in a timely and transparent manner. Bartusch would also like to campaign for local councils, which will not be possible until 2022 at the earliest. “Then an extra choice would be necessary,” he explains. But there are also temporary solutions. No matter how and when, the interests of the citizens are of course a prerequisite.
The cooperation of the city council is also a construction site. Because this has not happened anymore. “I will approach the individual lists and make it clear that I am running my office in a politically neutral manner.” He hopes that the phase of mutual distrust of the councils will end and that there will be more room for objectivity.
New business should settle as quickly as possible
The new mayor will also continue to deal with the planning of the Nossen-Süd industrial park. In its November meeting, the city council decided to adhere to the development plan (B-Plan) including the special trade area. Now the approval authority, the district office of Meißen, will decide again whether Nossen is allowed to build like this or not. Since the B-Plan has already been rejected, Bartusch fears a negative decision this time too. Therefore, he wanted to convert the special area into a normal commercial area – also to promote the development of the commercial area as quickly as possible. However, his motion did not get a majority in the city council. It will now take about a quarter of a year for the district office to make a decision. During this time Bartusch does not want to remain inactive, talk to the authorities and the investors. He would like to have a plan B in case the district office sticks to its first decision. Because a sticking point are some areas within the planned industrial park – including the special trade area and access roads – that do not belong to the city but to a private owner.
Bartusch also faces the problem with Schaumaplast. For years there has been a conflict of interest between the company and the residents. The latter fear for their health because of possible pollutants that may be emitted by the company. “We now have to deal with this urban planning problem from back then and see how we can best live with the mistake and find compromises.”
The list of problems and tasks is long. The construction sites are big. Nevertheless, Christian Bartusch is looking forward to his position. “It’s interesting and exciting. And a nice challenge. ”Important strategic decisions have to be made,“ we have to be careful that we remain an attractive city. ”Despite the necessary savings. He also addresses the tourism concept. But does that cost money? “Yes, if you have it created externally.” But he also sees internal potential. Possibly in the administration, and above all he would like to use the existing expertise of the trade association. “Nothing should be created behind closed doors.”
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