First meeting of the new Chemnitz City Council
Lord Mayor Sven Schulze opened the first meeting of the newly elected Chemnitz City Council today.
In his welcoming speech, he reminded the councillors of their responsibility towards the people of Chemnitz. In difficult times, it is important to find compromises together. "Just being against it, just making demands, will not be sustainable for long. If nothing is decided, if only random majorities are formed, that only means stagnation. Neither I, the administration, nor I think you want that. Even if there may be many things that separate us in terms of content, you and I have sworn an oath of office to keep the well-being of the citizens in mind. At the same time, however, we must not close our eyes to reality, that is our common task," said Sven Schulze.
The Lord Mayor also referred to the current difficult budget situation for the coming years. He appealed to the responsibility of Chemnitz city councillors for the city as a whole:
"In times like these, when the financial leeway of cities is shrinking instead of expanding and the burdens on local authorities are increasing enormously, it is our duty to act prudently and with foresight in order to secure the municipal ability to act and at the same time set the course for the sustainable and future-proof development of Chemnitz. If we do not do this ourselves, others will tell us what to do.
Rising costs in almost all mandatory areas - be it in youth and social welfare, education, infrastructure, personnel and healthcare or the exorbitant price increases for construction and services: These facts present us with decisions that none of us want to make lightly. But this is also part of our job: to make difficult decisions that involve cuts and changes and that are not easy for us as an administration or for you as elected representatives.
Regardless of how you feel about individual proposals and decisions, our common goal must be to ensure the city's long-term financial stability without jeopardising its future viability."
Before the first meeting of the newly elected body in June 2024, Lord Mayor Sven Schulze bid farewell to the outgoing city councillors and local councillors.