Vote on the 2023 citizens' budget launched

Since Sunday, 01.10.2023 at 09:00 a.m., residents of Jena aged 16 and over have been able to vote online on the valid proposals. From next week, this will also be possible via ballot papers at six different locations in the city. The vote will run until 12.11.2023.

From June 1 to July 31, suggestions could be submitted by the urban community. A total of 74 proposals were received by the Central Coordination Office for Citizen Participation during this period. All proposals were checked by the administration to see whether they complied with the regulations. If a proposal is invalid, the administration provides a justification, which can be found on the website. The results were discussed in the Citizen Participation Advisory Board on 26.09.2023 and 30 proposals can now be put to the vote.

"A wealth of ideas is a strength of our urban society. This is exemplified by the many proposals for the citizens' budget. Small improvements in the urban area, wishes from the villages or projects on the hiking trails - there is a diverse range on offer for this year's vote. We look forward to receiving numerous votes for projects close to our hearts for our beautiful city of Jena," - says Christian Gerlitz, Mayor and Head of Urban Development and Environment.

Specifically, the total amount of the submitted proposals is €217,000 - €103,970 is available for implementation. Residents now have the choice of which measures the money should be spent on. The reasons for the rejection of proposals were again varied this year. For example, projects that entail personnel costs cannot be implemented. In many cases, the costs of implementation also exceeded the budget limit of €10,000. Other proposals were not within the city's remit and there were also some proposals that are already in the planning stage or have already been implemented due to city council resolutions or city administration projects.

The rules of the citizens' budget stipulate that only people who live in Jena and are at least 16 years old can vote. Registration is therefore required for online voting. Personal data must be entered on the ballot papers. This year, it is again possible to post the ballot papers not only in the city's deadline letterbox (Am Anger 15), but also at the voting locations in the Stadtwerke Jena customer center (Saalstraße 8a), Winzerla district office (Anna-Siemsen-Straße 49), LISA district center (Werner-Seelenbinder-Straße 28A). The Polaris (Camburger Straße 65) and Eastside (Marie-Juchacz-Straße 1a) youth centers have also been added as additional "polling stations" this year.

All explanations and the ballot papers are available on the city of Jena's participation platform: https://mitmachen.jena.de/buergerbudget(link is external)