Citizens' budget 2020 approved by the city council

On July 15, 2020, the City Council gave its unanimous approval for a citizens' budget of € 25,000. Due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the municipal budget, it is not possible to use the originally planned €100,000.

"It was very important to us in the administration and also to the city council, as the unanimous decision shows, that the citizens' budget was not completely canceled. Despite all the restrictions, it is still possible for citizens to participate in shaping the city in this way," - says Christian Gerlitz, Mayor and Head of Department for Urban Development and the Environment.

However, the modified budget must be implemented once this year with a modified set of rules. Proposals with a maximum total cost of up to €5,000 (2019: €10,000) can be submitted. Only proposals that are either located in public spaces or publicly accessible areas or are accessible to the general public free of charge can be realized.

"Based on last year's experience, another important change is necessary. Proposals that entail follow-up costs can now also be realized if the costs for maintenance, upkeep and management over the next 5 years are included in the total costs of a maximum of €5,000," - Christian Gerlitz continues.

The citizens' budget will be launched after the summer break on August 31. Until then, all information can be viewed on the city's homepage.

This year's citizens' budget was also unanimously approved by the Citizens' Participation Advisory Board, which met again on 07.07. after a long break.

"It is a very important sign for the citizens of Jena that the city administration has launched the citizens' budget despite the difficult budget situation," - summarizes the chairwoman, Dörthe Knips, the position of the advisory board.

She also welcomes the fact that the central coordination office for citizen participation, which is located in the Department for Urban Development and the Environment, has been staffed up and can now resume its work. Monitoring the implementation of the citizens' budget is clearly high on the list of tasks. The advisory board will make a final assessment of the admissibility of the proposals submitted and also help plan the final event.

In addition, urban development issues and the expansion of digital citizen participation opportunities will also be discussed.

The advisory board has agreed to hold three more meetings this year: 29.09.; 13.10. and 01.12.20. The invitations with the agenda for the meetings can always be viewed on the city of Jena's meeting portal at least 8 days in advance. The meetings are generally open to interested citizens, although there may still be restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.