But now: Citizen's budget enters the second round

"Due to the Corona pandemic and a budgetary freeze by the Künzelsau city administration, this year's call for tenders for the citizens' budget was actually cancelled," says Mayor Stefan Neumann, not without a touch of melancholy in his voice. The Citizens' Budget is a support programme for citizens' projects in Künzelsau, which has been in existence since 2019. After a successful start last year, it should have taken place again in 2020. Then came Corona - and with it the temporary end for the project.

"When we heard that the citizens' budget could not be implemented due to a budgetary freeze, it was immediately clear to us that we wanted to support this project", says Ursula Berner, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the Albert Berner Foundation and honorary citizen of Künzelsau, and adds: "The project has immense potential for our beautiful town and its inhabitants". Citizens could bring in their own ideas and contribute their own ideas and thus decide for themselves which projects are important. For Ursula Berner, this is living local politics and democracy - important cornerstones of the foundation's work. "The projects benefit the people on the spot. This attitude is entirely in keeping with the wishes of my husband and initiator of the Albert Berner Foundation", Ursula Berner continues. No sooner said than done.

Without further ado, the Albert Berner Foundation, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary these days, has declared the citizens' budget to be this year's beacon project. This makes one thing clear: the citizens' budget can be implemented this year as planned. The 50,000 euros in funding will be provided by the Albert Berner Foundation.

"I am pleased that we can now continue the citizens' budget after the successful start last year. I would like to thank the Albert Berner Foundation and our honorary citizen Ursula Berner", said Mayor Stefan Neumann. "Together we are now looking for special project ideas and are looking forward to the suggestions of the citizens of Künzelsau, associations, organizations and churches".

How does it continue?

In a first step, project ideas can be submitted to the city administration until Wednesday, August 26, 2020. It is important that the projects serve the general public and create added value for Künzelsau and the people of Künzelsau.

At the beginning of September, the admission of the projects will be decided and announced to the public for voting in the form of an online voting. Subsequently, the population of Künzelsau can vote until the end of September on which projects should be supported with funds from the citizens' budget. After the online voting, the final decision will probably be made by the end of September. "After that we can start and the funded projects can start their implementation", says Mayor Stefan Neumann happily and adds: "I am absolutely sure that we will make our town even more likeable - thanks to the many ideas of our citizens and of course thanks to the support of the Albert Berner Foundation".

Who is eligible to nominate?

All Künzelsau associations, organizations, churches and private individuals as well as municipal institutions are eligible to nominate. The following criteria must be met:

• The project must serve the public and fulfill non-profit purposes according to §52 AO.
• Funding is possible for projects in the fields of social affairs, education, culture and sports.
• It must be possible to implement the project independently in 2020/2021.
• An adequate own contribution of the applicants is expected.
• The financing must be secured with the contribution from the citizens' budget.

Consultation hours on the citizens' budget

When applying for the Künzelsau citizens' budget, questions keep coming up: Which projects are admitted? What do I have to consider regarding the financing? How can I apply? In order to clarify all open questions and to discuss project ideas together, there will be the possibility for a video consultation hour with Mayor Stefan Neumann in July 2020. On Monday, 6, 20 and 27 July, this will be possible between 11 and 12 a.m. Prior registration via buergerbudget@kuenzelsau.de is required.  

Further information and documents about the Künzelsau citizen budget as well as the application form can be found at www.kuenzelsau.de/buergerbudget. Contact person at the Künzelsau city administration is Rafaela van Dorp, telephone 07940 129-102 or e-mail rafaela.vandorp@kuenzelsau.de. Contact person at the Albert Berner Foundation is Renate Wolpert, telephone 07940 121-701 or e-mail renate.wolpert@berner-group.com.

Albert Berner Foundation
The non-profit Albert Berner Foundation was established in 1995 to mark the 60th birthday of its namesake, Albert Berner. The Albert Berner Foundation is dedicated to supporting children and adults in the social and cultural field, as well as in sports and education, mainly in the Hohenlohe region. Since its inception, the foundation has helped extensive lighthouse projects as well as smaller organizations to advance their goals. The Albert Berner Foundation pays particular attention to the long-term nature of the projects it supports, in addition to the regional factor. For many years, numerous organizations and projects have enjoyed the support of the Foundation.