City council rejects reduction of property tax B – petition with more than 6,000 signatures sparks extensive debate
The local government supervisory authority has approved the city of Riedstadt's budget bylaw and budget plan for 2026. Mayor Marcus Kretschmann announced this at the beginning of the city council meeting on Thursday, October 1st. A key focus of the meeting was the petition against the increase in property tax B, which was signed by more than 6,000 people.
The budget was approved by the city council on June 25th. It includes a retroactive increase in the property tax rate (Grundsteuer B) from 1,105 to 1,600 percentage points, effective January 1st, 2026. The operating budget shows a deficit of €948,000, with revenues of approximately €70.7 million and expenditures of €71.7 million.
Citizens' initiative demands reversal of the increase
The petition's initiator, Elfi Korbmann, was granted the right to speak in the main, finance, and economic affairs committee. Due to the anticipated public interest, the meeting had been moved from the town hall to the Christoph-Bär-Halle.
According to Korbmann, 6,104 residents of Riedstadt signed the petition. Among other things, the citizens' initiative is demanding that the tax rate be retroactively reduced back to 1,105 percentage points as of January 1st.
Other demands include a halt to the planning and tendering process for the central fire station, a three-month hiring freeze in the administration, an external investigation into staffing needs, and increased inter-municipal cooperation.
The city council, however, proposed not granting the petition for budgetary reasons and maintaining the tax rate of 1,600 percentage points. According to them, the budget's approval would otherwise not be guaranteed, despite the planned cost-cutting measures.
The SPD proposes a tax rate of 1,400 points
The SPD submitted a competing motion. This motion proposed retroactively reducing the property tax B to 1,400 percentage points The motion did not include a proposal for how the resulting revenue shortfall would be compensated.
The motion received eleven votes in favor from the SPD, AfD, and one member of the Citizens for Riedstadt (BfR). Twenty-one city councilors from the CDU, Greens, Free Voters, and four BfR members voted against it.
The city council's proposal was subsequently adopted by a vote of 21 to 11. This means the property tax rate (Grundsteuer B) remains at 1,600 percentage points.
Debate about staff and fire station
Further demands from the citizens' initiative were also discussed in committee and the city council. The city pointed to existing inter-municipal cooperation projects and the hiring freeze included in the budget. Only childcare is exempt from this freeze. The main, finance, and economic affairs committee decides on exceptions upon application.
Mayor Kretschmann also rejected the demand to halt the planned construction of the new central fire station due to budget constraints. He stated that the project primarily affects the capital budget and, according to him, has only a minor impact on the operating budget. The existing fire stations in Goddelau and Erfelden are in poor condition. A shared location will allow the two district fire departments to be consolidated.
Kretschmann's assessment that the shared location could reduce costs in the long term and that there was no alternative to a new building was part of his justification for the project.
(RIEDSTADT – RED/PSR)
