Please support THE CITIZEN'S VOICE with a donation HERE!
|
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
| Home About Contact | ||
|
||
Please support THE CITIZEN'S VOICE with a donation HERE! | ||
|
|
||
Childcare Becoming More “Valuable” – City Plans to Raise Daycare FeesYes, this truly warms the heart of every family with small children: Childcare in the City of Hohenmölsen’s daycare centers is set to become more valuable – meaning more expensive. Finally, some good news in times when everything is getting more expensive. The majority of the Finance Committee approved the proposal for the city council: ten percent more across the board, in every childcare category. Congratulations. At the Finance Committee meeting on 11 May 2025, under the initially rather harmless agenda item “Preliminary consultation on the 2nd amendment to the statute governing the use of the childcare facilities of the City of Hohenmölsen (KiTa Statute)”, the whole thing was sold as a necessary measure. The last adjustment was five years ago (May 2021). Since then, personnel costs have exploded due to collective wage increases, operating costs have risen – and the share paid by parents of the remaining costs (after deductions from the state government and district administration) has dropped from around 47 percent to just 29 percent in the projected year 2026. The city is suddenly covering 71 percent of the remaining costs. That, they say, is unsustainable. The increase is expected to bring in an additional €85,300 in revenue and help plug the budget hole. Or, to put it another way: families are expected to cough up more money so the deficit does not look quite so embarrassing. Federal and State Politics Keep Municipalities on a Short LeashOf course, this is not solely the city’s fault. Wonderful federal and state politics keep municipalities financially on a short leash. Instead of genuine support for childcare as a responsibility shared by society as a whole, there are warm words and inadequate subsidies. While schools (except for after-school care programs) are free of charge, parents are happily billed for the youngest children. There are constant discussions about abolishing daycare fees altogether. So far, however, the governing parties have failed to reach an agreement.Now, in Hohenmölsen, the red pen is once again being applied to parents instead of cutting unnecessary spending or putting more pressure on the state and federal governments. The parents’ council of the Pfiffikus daycare center made exactly this point clear in its statement: the causes of the budget crisis do not lie with families. Instead of passing the pressure “downward,” the city should position itself more strongly toward higher levels of government. Childcare is essential for family-friendliness, early childhood education, and balancing family and work life. Many parents with strained incomes are already at their financial limit. An increase could lead to reduced childcare hours – precisely in households where both parents have to work. So far, no statements have been issued by the parents’ councils of the other daycare centers in the City of Hohenmölsen. Comparison with Other Cities as a Consolation PrizeParticularly interesting is the justification using comparisons with Weißenfels and Naumburg. It is even more expensive there, so an increase in Hohenmölsen is apparently legitimate. Following the motto: “Look, it’s much worse elsewhere!” That is not an argument; it is a capitulation to a lack of ideas. The benchmark is not what is achievable or beneficial for citizens, but the bad example set by neighboring towns.After all, Hohenmölsen is primarily a residential town. Its major advantage compared to Leipzig or larger urban centers could lie precisely in the fact that fees are relatively low and life remains affordable. Especially since commuters already face daily travel costs, which politicians continue to drive upward through taxes on petrol and diesel. The city supposedly wants to attract people and families from the large city of Leipzig – while simultaneously driving them away again with higher daycare fees. This is how competitive advantages are systematically dismantled. The VoteVoting in favor of the proposal to increase the fees were Andy Haugk (Mayor), Sylvia Weidemeier (City Councillor, Local Mayor of Webau, AHL), Thomas Zeischold (Local Mayor of Zembschen, AHL), Katrin Block (City Councillor, Local Mayor of Taucha, AHL), Jan Förster (City Councillor, CDU), Bernd Hoffmann (Chairman of the City Council, Local Council Member of Webau, CDU), Michael Seppelt (City Councillor, Local Mayor of Werschen, AHL), and Corinna Zogall (City Councillor, Local Mayor of Granschütz, AHL).Voting against the proposal was Jens Neumann (City Councillor, SPD/Die Linke parliamentary group, parliamentary group chairman). Hohenmölsen once again demonstrates how local politics works when pressure comes from above and courage is lacking below: money is collected where it is easiest to get – from parents. Childcare is becoming more “valuable.” For the city treasury. For families, it is simply becoming more expensive. Author: AI-Translation - АИИ | |
|
| Other articles: |
 | Saxony Locked Up Quarantine Refusers – Including a 14-Year-Old! SPD Minister Köpping Still Denies It Today and Apparently LiesSaxony forcibly interned people, including a minor, for days—and former Health Minister Petra Köpping continues to claim the opposite. What happened behind the scenes, how gover... zum Artikel |
 | Burgenland District in Political Blind Flight – Between the Search for Solutions, Evasion of Responsibility, and HelplessnessThere are political speeches that sound like a lukewarm comfort pillow: soft, friendly, but utterly incapable of reflecting reality in even the slightest way.... zum Artikel |
 | Mask Mandate for ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS was Unlawful – Government Pushed Political Agendas!The Higher Administrative Court of Schleswig-Holstein ruled: The mask mandate for ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS from November 2020 was INVALID. (Case no. 3 KN 36/20)... zum Artikel |
|
Support the operation of this website with voluntary contributions: via PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/evovi/12 or via bank transfer IBAN: IE55SUMU99036510275719 BIC: SUMUIE22XXX Account holder: Michael Thurm Shorts / Reels / Kurz-Clips Imprint / Disclaimer |