Henning Rehbaum in dialogue with the mayor

Many topics were discussed during the regular exchange between CDU Member of Parliament Henning Rehbaum and Mayor Michael Gerdhenrich in the presence of the Chairman of the CDU parliamentary group Andreas Kühnel and City Treasurer Thomas Wulf.

6 May 2024 by Sandra Berges
    Group picture
    • From left to right: CDU Member of Parliament Henning Rehbaum, Chairman of the CDU parliamentary group Andreas Kühnel, Mayor Michael Gerdhenrich and City Treasurer Thomas Wulf.

    For regulated immigration and the successful integration of refugees living in Germany, more order and control of immigration is needed, while at the same time humanity for people who are actually being persecuted must not be neglected, explained the Berlin MP. "Unfortunately, the causes of flight cannot be easily eliminated, so we will have to continue to take in people," explained the mayor. "But in order for us to be able to plan, one-off payments will only help us in the very short term and not in the long term; we need a clear financing framework, also with a view to reimbursing the costs of holding refugees."

    Retirement provision and property ownership are close to the heart of Mr Rehbaum from Albersloh: "Building must become affordable again, but we often have to deal with well-intentioned but very high requirements, for example for climate protection. This drives up costs massively."

    Mayor Gerdhenrich called on his Berlin guest to bear in mind that any discussions on tax relief at federal level must not lead to a loss of revenue for local authorities.

    Everyone agreed that public acceptance was very important for the energy transition and the expansion of renewable energy sources. In this context, the head of administration emphasised: "We are doing our bit locally. Potential areas for ground-mounted photovoltaics or wind turbines are available."

    The Road Traffic Act, a federal law, is intended to provide local authorities with more clarity when it comes to traffic regulations: "Under Angela Merkel, we have already given cities a range of options for greater road safety in front of schools, nurseries and hospitals. Ordering a 30 km/h speed limit at large school bus stops without further justification would have been a good further development of the amendment from the grand coalition," explained Rehbaum. However, the mayor made it clear that the current legal framework is not satisfactory. "We local authorities are often not allowed to make banal traffic law decisions ourselves. Local citizens rightly have no understanding for this. The Bundestag and Bundesrat are called upon across party lines to finally create clarity instead of getting lost in party-political minutiae." The amendment still has to go through the Bundesrat.

    Rehbaum sees potential for improvement in the construction of major infrastructure projects such as the expansion of the WLE line for passenger transport. "The planning approval procedures are often too complicated and therefore cost-intensive," explained the federal politician. The mayor and member of the Bundestag agree that the continuation of the WLE route planning from Sendenhorst via Neubeckum and Beckum to Lippstadt requires secure funding.

    In conclusion, the guest from Berlin thanked the volunteer local politicians, because "the regulations must always be implemented locally."