Baubürgermeister

Yesterday a friend from Madison sent me an article by Barry Gore: Madison needs a professional City Council, asking me at the same time whether the Freiburg model of city government may not serve Madison.

I understood that Madison is run from the Mayor’s Office by experts and twenty aldermen/elderwomen on a city council, paid US$ 7,545 per annum to cover their expenses.

In a first approximation, Freiburg’s administration structure is similar. The city has a Lord Mayor and a city council with 48 members elected by the people representing the usual German party spectrum. All council members are working on an honorary basis with their expenses covered.

Madison and Freiburg differ in that we have four additional mayors, each heading a Dezernat (department). The city council elects these mayors, so they mirror the party composition of the latter but are expected to be experts in their departments. Like the Lord Mayor, the four mayors are fully paid.

The Lord Mayor’s office handles general organization, administration, personnel matters, law, and public relations (partner cities). One of the mayors deals with the economy, finance, housing, sports, and public order (police). Another cares about the environment, forests, schools, and waste. The third is responsible for social affairs, culture, youth, and integration. The fourth mayor runs the building departments and annexed activities.

These four mayors and their departments cost a lot of money. So a few years ago, the city council decided that Freiburg could do with only three additional mayors. Without going into detail, the decision to oust the mayor responsible for building and to dissolve the Baudezernat was based on the issue of competence and economy.

This year the city council eventually came back on its decision. Despite city finances running low, the council reinstalled the fourth mayor, the Baubürgermeister. The official reason was the excess work for the previous three mayors and their departments.

Freiburg's new Baubürgermeister Professor Dr. Martin Haag (©Thomas Kunz/BZ)

In the northern part of Germany, we say: Rut us de Kartüveln, rin in de Kartüveln, or if you understand what I mean, is it better to say: Out of the cotton field, back into the cotton field?

Considering the outcome of the recent elections in the States, how do Americans feel about more administration, even on a level as modest as a city?

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