Right at the beginning of the agenda, Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel and First City Councillor Eric Neiseke introduced the budget statutes and the business plans of the municipal enterprises into the political discussion.

Klingebiel emphasized that "the budget presented for discussion is significantly affected by the consequences of past and current crises, such as the refugee crisis, the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Due to the constantly growing number of mandatory tasks imposed on local authorities by the federal and state governments, a level of costs has been established that has structurally left the revenue side behind; there is a permanent and structural underfunding." He continues: "The EU, federal and state governments are called upon to ensure that local authorities are adequately funded. We here in Salzgitter have reached the consolidation limit." "I won't be saving the city out of money," the Lord Mayor makes clear.

Salzgitter is also heavily reliant on trade tax revenues, which must be estimated to be relatively low in the current planning period due to the burdens from ongoing transformation processes in the local industry. Sufficient compensation from the other general cover funds is not to be expected, so that the revenue deficit will be exacerbated. As a result, the municipal budget of the city of Salzgitter finds itself in a precarious balance between necessary fiscal consolidation and the responsibility to ensure the highest possible quality of life. In view of the tense financial situation, the city is forced to take stringent cost-saving measures in order to maintain budgetary stability and not further jeopardize its future room for manoeuvre.

The draft budget will now be discussed by the specialist committees in the coming weeks.

In the further course of the agenda, the committee was informed about the construction of the new two-form entry elementary school and the new four-group daycare center in Salzgitter-Lichtenberg "Am Zingel". Both construction projects are currently being implemented and the daycare center is scheduled to open at the end of March 2025. The planned outdoor facilities will have to be constructed before it can be opened.
In order to ensure this, the current temporary access route to the existing sports hall must be removed, as this leads over the area of the daycare center's outdoor facilities, which otherwise cannot be constructed.

In addition, due to the construction progress of the daycare center and the parking lot in front of the gymnasium, it will not be possible to ensure a safe access route and direct accessibility to the gymnasium for emergency vehicles from the autumn vacations until the end of 2024. It is therefore necessary to close the Lichtenberg gymnasium for the period 04.10.24 until around mid-January 2025 (depending on the weather).

Also on the agenda: implementation of a measure to further develop Salzgittersee, expansion of the Hinter dem Salze/Kaiserstraße/Schlopweg junction in Salzgitter-Bad, retrofitting bus stops with tactile floor indicators and bicycle racks.

The meeting ended with motions and questions from the political groups. The current and detailed agenda can be viewed in the Council information system.