Mayor karlheinz denninger (gemeinwohl) will resign – but not before october 2013. That's what a dozen or so burghers who had been eagerly awaiting monday's meeting of the market town council learned. The mayor is thus bowing to a demand that a large majority of the council body had decided on weeks ago in a conspiratorial meeting.
But denninger, who was caught in the crossfire of criticism because of his private debts, legal disputes and inconsistencies in connection with the canal connection of his presence, does not immediately resign, as the "burgerwohl" group, among others, demanded had demanded.
He justified this by saying that he still wanted to complete some ongoing projects that were very close to his heart or to get them off the ground in such a way that the community would be in a good position when he handed over his task to other hands. In addition he paid canal and water pipe in hohnhausen, the clear plant fitzendorf and the lake project in leuzendorf.
At the meeting on monday evening, at which only one item was discussed, the motion for the resignation of the 1. Burgermeisters" on the agenda, it had only come because over 25 percent of the community council had requested a meeting. The question of whether denninger is already entitled to the mayor's honorary salary at this point in time should also be discussed?.
The mayor noted that in the meeting of 18. June the resignation indeed in prospect, but with no word said that it was done without delay. He also emphasized that he wants to enable his successor to conduct the business of the office in an orderly manner.
The demand of the "burgerwohl" group, his resignation to 2. July to declare, denninger does not comply. For him, it is "not necessary to carry out a head-over-heels action. Moreover, there is no legal basis for this demand.
"I feel that setting such a deadline is a violation of the respectful way of dealing with each other that we have always cultivated, despite all our political differences of opinion", said denninger.
14-day deadline
furthermore, a resignation on monday would not be possible because the request had to be made by him in writing and a 14-day deadline had to be met before the council could decide on it.
Regarding the accusations that he had not connected his property to the sewerage system, mayor denninger explained that the schweinfurt water police were acting at the behest of the bamberg public prosecutor's office, but that both authorities recognized that, according to the investigations to date, at most only a regulatory offense could be considered if it turned out that no wastewater was discharged from the mayor's property into a creek.
"Smear campaign"
Denninger said he was relaxed about the end of the proceedings. He asserted that he was not influenced by an "inflammatory campaign" and will continue to do everything in his power for the good of the community of burgpreppach until the end of his term of office.
This statement was followed by gunter stottele (burgerwohl), who also spoke on the subject of the resignation of the first chairman. Burgermeisters" auberte. Stottele made it clear that there is no difference between the auction of the "schneidmuhle" and the auction of the "burgermeister" a clear line had to be drawn between mayor denninger and the non-connection of the land to the public sewer.
After it became officially known that, contrary to karlheinz denninger's repeated assertion that the property was connected, it was not connected after all, a meeting was held at the firehouse. All the council representatives (chairman klaus dollner of the burgerwohl, jorg denninger of the liste gemeinwohl and fitzendorf's local spokesman matthias wernthaler) took part in the meeting and stated that mayor denninger no longer enjoyed their trust and should step down.
Thus, discussions took place in the administrative community (VG) and the district office. Displeasure resulted from the fact that third mayor hermann niediek (CSU) was present at the district administration office, although he had no invitation. Stottele could not understand this displeasure.
At the meeting on 18. June, mayor denninger had announced his resignation, but left the date open. "Burgerwohl" expected the resignation promptly and initiated a letter with the resignation demand through the administrative community to mayor denninger, in which it was recommended to him"…In the interest of our community, the matter should be brought to a conclusion as quickly as possible and in a respectful style".
"Luge" and "abuse of office
"Citizen's welfare" threatened to withdraw the willingness to voluntarily pay an honorary salary if the deadlines were not met. Stottele sees, according to the current state of affairs, the danger that the politics of the municipality will not enter calmer waters in the near future.
For "burgerwohl" mayor denninger "lied about the canal, abused his office and withheld income from the municipality and gained a financial advantage by disregarding the municipal statutes." Stottele appealed to "reason and honor from mayor denninger to resign promptly.
Second mayor helmut schwappach (gemeinwohl), on the other hand, defended karlheinz denninger and pointed out that the resignation had been offered at the municipal council meeting, but no date had been set for it.
In this regard, there had also been no requests to speak from the committee. Schwappach explained: "even if mayor denninger resigns on 2. After denninger submitted his resignation letter on july, the council could not decide on it today because of a 14-day deadline. "This fact was also known to the fraktion burgerwohl and we ask ourselves, what then the today's play, for me a trauerspiel, at all should", so schwappach.
He made it clear that the "common good" was also important disapprove the behavior of the mayor in the matter of sewer connection and continue to stand by the demand for resignation. Because denninger was not charged with any official misconduct, he could only resign on a voluntary basis.
"Common good" can not understand "why now with all means of the 1. Mayor should be hounded out of office as soon as possible", despite eleven years of service to the community and the implementation of major projects.
Schwappach misses the often invoked fairness and unity in this case.
Keyword: honorarium
for the market town council of burgpreppach it is questionable whether karlheinz denninger should already be entitled to honorary pay at present. He has served as mayor for eleven years. A former (honorary or professional) first mayor has, according to art. 138 of the law on municipal election officials a legal right to honorary salary if he has held the office of first mayor in the same municipality for at least twelve years or retires after at least ten years of service due to inability to serve.