City Council adopts second package of measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic

The City Council today adopted the second package of measures introduced by the Lord Mayor and the mayors to deal with the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic in the city. The submission is a further interim status that responds to current developments. The administration shows in detail where additional income is expected from the state and federal government and where the city will pay out or has already paid out further support for certain areas.

Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig: "The first package from April was important at the beginning of the pandemic and helped to replace lost revenue or minimise gaps in areas that the city can influence. It is now becoming increasingly clear that the federal and state governments do not want to leave local authorities to fend for themselves and are providing them with numerous financial assistance programmes. We also have a more precise overview of where we want to provide further support. This is what we are doing with this submission, which is an initial interim assessment."

Various support services

In the area of social affairs , the joint action guidelines of the City of Chemnitz and the League of Independent Welfare Organisations in the area of child and youth welfare have been implemented extremely successfully. All funding/subsidies and service agreements have been continued unchanged, even if the services could not be provided or could not be provided in full. In some areas, funding is provided in a graduated form (average calculation). Existing assistance systems have been maintained without restrictions as planned and are now available again without restrictions. The response from the service providers who benefited from the city's support was consistently positive. Their innovative ideas have helped to ensure that urgently needed support services could continue to be offered even at the height of the crisis, albeit in a modified form in some cases, in compliance with the strict regulations on infection control. As a result, the negative consequences of the coronavirus crisis have been mitigated. In addition, the continued existence of service providers was prevented from being jeopardised.

In the area of sport , the Niners were promoted to the 1st Bundesliga BBL basketball league after a successful season. Planned games had to be cancelled during the pandemic. Restrictions and therefore a lack of income from ticket sales are to be expected for the coming season. In addition, sponsorship and advertising income cannot be generated in the planned amount. The City of Chemnitz therefore intends to acquire advertising rights for €120,000 in order to at least partially compensate for the loss of income.

The city council's decision to waive rents and leases for sports facilities for the months of March to June has so far only been taken up by ten clubs. However, the offer still exists. In addition, municipal sports funding has been continued unchanged. The earliest possible reopening of sports facilities by sports clubs was also well received.

In the field of art , the special municipal programme "Staying visible and audible during the crisis", which was adopted in the first coronavirus package, has been well received by artists and cultural workers. At the end of the programme on 30.06.2020, 364 applications had been submitted, meaning that the 250,000 euros approved on 29.04.2020 were far oversubscribed. In addition, the city council today approved a further 150,000 euros for the programme, which will be used to continue the "Chemnitz Summer of Culture" programme.

In addition , daycare centres, transport companies, sports clubs and cultural institutions, for example, will receive further support. For example, C³ will receive an additional subsidy of around 1.5 million euros to ensure the company's solvency. At the same time, the city is expecting the federal or state government to cover the costs incurred as a result of the pandemic in many areas.

A third presentation on the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in the city is planned for the autumn.