New regulations for Christmas trees in the Jena districts

The costs for the Christmas trees in the districts in 2024 will be covered in full by Kommunalservice Jena (KSJ); from 2025, there will be an arrangement whereby the districts will contribute depending on their size.

This concession was presented to the district mayors in a joint meeting with the Lord Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche and the plant manager of Kommunalservice Jena, Uwe Feige.

After more and more districts had used the services of Kommunalservice to put up or decorate Christmas trees in recent years, the Lord Mayor explained at the meeting that these services could no longer be provided for free and that it was necessary to distribute the costs among the districts.

"Of course, we want to continue to enable the districts to maintain their traditions, which includes the Christmas trees in particular. The people of Jena are firmly rooted in their districts and we want to support the community spirit in the districts," said Lord Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche.

Together with Uwe Feige, he therefore proposed a new arrangement for fair cost sharing from 2025: The KSJ will cover a basic amount of 250 euros per local district as well as a resident surcharge of 7 cents per resident in the local district for putting up the Christmas trees. The districts themselves bear the difference to the additional costs.

"This budget can be used not only for putting up the Christmas trees, but also for other services provided by the KSJ to maintain customs. We remain a reliable partner for the local districts," emphasized KSJ plant manager Uwe Feige.