In the spirit of the German poet Roswitha Bloch:
"When we realize that the time we take for another person is the most precious thing we can give, we have understood the meaning of Christmas."
She is absolutely right! Many Salzgitter residents take time for other people all year round. Our more than 900 active firefighters in the city's 29 volunteer fire departments, for example, are there for us 365 days a year. In our city's sports clubs, coaches, trainers and sports administrators are committed. The volunteers in Salzgitter's other emergency services, the youth leaders, the volunteers in the social sector, in the senior citizens' office or in refugee aid and the many active members of our city's art and cultural associations, churches and trade unions, as well as our councillors and local council members, also make time for the people of Salzgitter. The list could go on for an incredibly long time. The spectrum of our volunteers is simply incredibly diverse and fantastic. It is the heart and backbone of our urban society. The many, many volunteers live charity - day after day. They all do outstanding work for the people of our city and are truly role models. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much!
Dear fellow citizens,
Do you also feel that every year goes by faster? It certainly does for me. Every week is full of meetings, discussions and events and, sooner than you think, the next turn of the year is already upon us. A good time to look back, but also to look forward.
The Indian philosopher and freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi once said:
"The future depends on what we do today."
True to this motto, I am convinced that we - the city council, the administration and I - have set a decisive course for our city and for all of us this year.
As the third-largest industrial location in Lower Saxony and a regional center, Salzgitter is facing profound economic change, which we as a city want to shape actively, sustainably and ecologically together with the large companies, trades and agriculture based here - with a sense of proportion! In my view, particular attention must be paid to securing the numerous jobs in Salzgitter and making them fit for the future. In addition, we now have the unique opportunity to reposition our city as a pioneer for alternative drive technologies and climate-friendly production methods. I mention battery cells and hydrogen in this context.
Salzgitter's social challenges are still unique in many respects. The integration of the people who have found refuge in Salzgitter - there are many more than in Hanover - and the urban development challenges far exceed what we can manage as a municipality. After a long period of persuasion on our part, the state government has also recognized this and promised us a total of 50 million euros in structural aid, which will be supplemented by 8.6 million euros for integration services in 2019 and 2020. Stefan Klein, a member of the state parliament, and I in particular fought very hard for this last year. We had strong allies at state level in Minister President Stephan Weil and CDU parliamentary group chairman Dirk Toepffer as well as members of the state parliament Marcus Bosse and Christoph Plett. With the help of this extraordinary measure and the use of considerable own funds, we want to implement an ambitious concept in the coming years, which the city council unanimously approved at my suggestion in October. The plan is to build the new Wiesenschule elementary school in Salzgitter-Bad and the elementary school in Salzgitter-Lichtenberg as well as three daycare centers in Salzgitter-Thiede, Salzgitter-Lichtenberg and Salzgitter-Bad. Unattractive housing stock with a high vacancy rate is also to be acquired in order to make it more attractive or - if this is not possible - to demolish it. A third and important component of our concept is to develop Salzgitter into Lower Saxony's nucleus for environmentally friendly drive technologies such as battery cells and hydrogen.
It is particularly pleasing that, in addition to the construction of new daycare centers, we are also able to improve the quality of care in these facilities. After lengthy negotiations, I, as Vice President of the Lower Saxony Association of Cities and Towns, together with our President, Lord Mayor Ulrich Mädge from Lüneburg, were able to convince the Lower Saxony Minister of Culture, Grant Hendrik Tonne, that all cities and districts in Lower Saxony will receive funding from the federal government's "Good Daycare Act" to improve the quality of daycare centers. Salzgitter will receive a total of 6.27 million euros for the period 2020 to 2023, which we want to invest in the care and support of our children and in better working conditions for the staff at the facilities.
We are also investing in digitalization. As part of the Digital Pact for Schools, our 33 schools in Salzgitter will receive funding to expand their digital infrastructure. Our task as a city is to expand the broadband connections to the schools by 2021. Around two million euros in funding and the city's own resources will be spent on this over the next two years. This will create the basis for modern teaching and learning concepts at our schools.
There was an extremely pleasing development for future medical care in the south of our city. In February, the go-ahead was given for the new replacement building for the St. Elisabeth Hospital in Salzgitter-Bad when the construction site was cleared. This was preceded by years of intensive work to convince people of the need for a second hospital in Salzgitter. Together with members of the state parliament Marcus Bosse and Stefan Klein and the Vinzenz-Verbund as the hospital operator, I managed to convince the state's hospital planning committee of the need for a second hospital and to provide the hospital operator with state funding of 24.5 million euros for the new replacement building. This could be important for the lives and health of many people in our city. In a city that is larger than Hanover.
Dear citizens,
As you can see, we have achieved a great deal this year for you, for Salzgitter and also for a positive future for our city. This should fill us with satisfaction at the end of this tough year. Nevertheless, the challenges of the coming years are no less demanding for the council, administration and myself. But you can rest assured that I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure the positive development of our city.
I wish you a reflective, blessed and peaceful Christmas. Enjoy the holidays with your family and friends and take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life before you start a hopefully successful and, above all, healthy New Year!
Yours
