AG Franconian Lord Mayor
The Franconian Mayors' Working Group met on June 3 at Schweinfurt Town Hall. The focus was on the topic of safety in public spaces. Possible scope for action by local authorities was discussed in a joint exchange. The topics discussed included the presence and authority of the municipal public order service and cooperation with the police. The controversial topic of video surveillance was also discussed, with the city of Schweinfurt demonstrating the path it has recently taken by way of a city council resolution to give the police more leeway by issuing regulations. For example, officers are able to carry out identity checks in parts of the city center without any special reason thanks to the knife, alcohol and cannabis prohibition zones that have been declared.
The topic of finances was also on the agenda. The working group drew an overall picture. Almost every municipality is struggling with the effects of the economic imbalance.
Schweinfurt's Lord Mayor Sebastian Remelé and Eva Döhla, Lord Mayor of Hof and Chair of the Franconian Lord Mayors' Working Group, emphasized in the press conference they hosted after the meeting that all municipalities are facing major challenges. Whether in youth welfare, migration or social services. "We are facing a precarious flood of rising expenditure, but at the same time we are seeing falling income, for example in terms of trade tax revenue," said Remelé and Döhla. "The cities and municipalities need both the appropriate resources and refinancing options to be able to meet this challenge," the two state, thereby also agreeing with the existing demands of the Association of Cities and Towns.
Background: The Working Group of Franconian Lord Mayors was founded on March 19, 1988 in Würzburg Town Hall in order to strengthen the joint exchange of ideas and the discussion of joint actions at Franconian level. The meetings of the Franconian Lord Mayors take place on an informal basis. The aim is to regularly exchange ideas and information, strengthen Franconian awareness and jointly represent Franconian interests vis-à-vis the state government.
In addition to the mayors of the independent cities and large district towns in Franconia, the heads of the city of Heilbronn and the independent city of Suhl also take part as permanent guests.