Betzendorf: New Hall multi-million dollar project on the verge of collapse – community in financial distress!

Betzendorf: New Hall multi-million dollar project on the verge of collapse – community in financial distress!

The municipality of Betzendorf is faced with drastic cuts in its investment plans due to local authority regulations. The plan was to build a new multi-purpose hall, for which 1.75 million euros were originally budgeted for in the 2025 budget. However, due to objections to the draft budget by the municipal supervisory authority of the Lüneburg district, these funds were canceled. This reduces the borrowing to just 221,000 euros, which forces the municipality to revise its planning, as the high level of debt is seen as a financial overload. Mayor Winfried Geppert said that supervision had significantly affected the plans.

The total costs for the project amount to over six million euros. The dispute over financing could delay the entire planning for years. Although the expected budget deficit will fall from over 75,000 to around 35,700 euros, further investments of around two million euros per year are planned for the coming years, for which there is currently no approval. Community director Stephan Kaufmann made it clear that the problem would be postponed until next year in the hope of better financial conditions.

Continuation of planning

Despite the financial restrictions, the planning for the new hall should be pushed forward in order to create reliable cost and economic efficiency calculations. Discussions are also planned with the Amelinghausen community about cost reimbursements. The future multi-purpose hall will not only provide rooms for school sports and local administration, but will also contain an air rifle shooting range and a group room. The old gym, which dates back to 1978, is to be converted to provide a new home for a neighboring kindergarten. However, the decision for the new budget was passed unanimously, which indicates a broad consensus within the local council.

Budget problems in the municipality

There are similar difficulties in the Beetzendorf-Diesdorf community. Here the budgets of all eight member municipalities were criticized, which leads to a serious scope for action. The municipality is currently forced to work under a provisional budget, which means that no new investments can be made. The member communities, including the community of Kuhfelde, are under pressure because only ongoing projects and maintenance are permitted.

Treasurer Katrin Seidel announced that she would find a solution to the existing problems as quickly as possible and rejected the allegations, which were made in particular by Mayor Günther Serie from Kuhfelde. Serie criticized the administration and saw the responsibility as the mayor of the association, Michael Olms, who has been on sick leave for months. Seidel cites, among other things, personnel and structural reasons, including an unfilled treasury position, as the causes of the financial difficulties and the resulting consequences.

Although a majority of mayors support Katrin Seidel and blame the past failures under Olms, the pressure remains high. Serie is even considering legal action to hold the administration responsible for the current problems. However, Seidel reported that internal restructuring is taking place and additional financial statement support will be provided starting July 1. A constructive exchange between the mayors should advance the approval of the outstanding budgets.