Operating committee advises: No transfer to the Lippeverband

The pros and cons of such a takeover were thoroughly weighed up in an extensive process lasting 1.5 years with external expert support.

"Based on all the considerations and calculations that have been made, I propose that the Council finalise the audit and leave the Beckum municipal wastewater company unchanged. It is working successfully and should remain so," explains Mayor Michael Gerdhenrich.

Firstly, the operating committee discussed the 50-page proposal on Thursday of last week. The vote was unanimously against the transfer and therefore in favour of the administration's proposal. On 3 July, the topic will be discussed in the main, finance and digital committee. The Beckum City Council will have the final say on the matter on 10 July.

Why was the transfer checked?

The audit was carried out following an almost unanimous council resolution for the following reasons: foreseeable investment requirements of the municipal wastewater company, recruitment/retention/availability of skilled labour, possible experience advantage of the Lippe Association, possible procurement advantages of the Lippe Association, possible relief for the municipal budget by achieving an equalisation value to finance municipal investments (e.g. for upcoming major investments in schools and the fire brigade). From the outset, the premise was that fee increases due to a transfer of the wastewater disposal obligation were ruled out.

Five specialist teams from the areas of personnel/organisation, finance, law, technology and press were involved in the investigation process. Mayor Michael Gerdhenrich and City Treasurer Thomas Wulf emphasise the good cooperation with the Lippeverband.

The financial basis for the calculation is a long-term model calculation up to the year 2078, in which remaining with the city was compared with the transfer to the Lippeverband. According to the calculations carried out, the city could have received up to 167.3 million euros from the Lippeverband. In order to avoid an increase in fees due to the transfer, these would have had to be supported with up to 84.1 million euros until 2064.

"167 million euros - that sounds tempting and would give us some real breathing space in the short term. However, I am not prepared to prioritise this short-term gain over the long-term well-being of our city. For me, responsibility means keeping an eye on the big picture, even in challenging times," says Gerdhenrich.

With fee support, the continued existence of Städtischer Abwasserbetrieb Beckum is economically more favourable. Without fee support, citizens would be relieved in the long term, but would be heavily burdened in the short term. However, the administration believes that a transfer that would lead to an increase in wastewater charges is out of the question. According to the head of administration, there are also many legal and organisational arguments in favour of remaining with the city of Beckum. The personnel situation in the wastewater company is good and stable. The continued existence of Städtischer Abwasserbetrieb Beckum also means that the direct influence of politics and administration on the wastewater infrastructure will be maintained.

Against this background, the administration ultimately proposed to the committees that they refrain from transferring the fees to the Lippeverband. City treasurer Thomas Wulf summarises the complicated calculations and interactions as follows: "Our central goal was to keep the fees stable for the citizens. Under the prevailing conditions in Beckum, transferring them to the Lippeverband does not make economic sense and is also not necessary for other reasons. On the contrary: if we pay attention to fee stability, Beckum is better off with its own wastewater company."

The municipal wastewater company in Beckum has been a municipal enterprise since 2014 and must therefore be considered separately from a budgetary perspective.