Mainz separates from the district: what is behind the fine dispute!

Mainz separates from the district: what is behind the fine dispute!

The city of Mainz has decided in a significant decision to end the cooperation with the Mainz-Bingen district in the area of ​​fine procedures. This partnership, which has existed since 2015, aimed to reduce the effort and costs of processing fine procedures. The city council will soon take the formal decision not to extend the contract with the district, based on a unanimous recommendation of the main and personnel committee. The reasons for the termination of the collaboration are diverse and are reflected in a variety of problems that occurred during cooperation.

In a joint initiative, Mainz had taken responsibility for fines in the area of ​​road traffic, while the district of Mainz-Bingen took care of other fine procedures. However, this division in the area of ​​responsibility led to difficulties. For example, fine procedures were hired by the district without prior agreement, which led to resentment in the city administration. The mayor of Mainz, Nino Hasse, had tried to find solutions in a conversation with District Administrator Dorothea Schäfer, but without success. Areas such as wild space monitoring remained completely unpunished, and long processing times were plagued.

dissatisfaction and lack of communication

The city of Mainz particularly criticized the insufficient division of fines according to offices and specific cases as well as the lack of regular quarterly transfer of the fine income. The administrative offenses processed by Mainz-Bingen are, among other things, building law, waste law and nature conservation. The district administration argued that the challenges in case processing had increased and that more staff would have been necessary.

The efforts to have a solution do not seem to have fertilized. The problems in inter -municipal cooperation have achieved a critical mass that the city of Mainz can no longer accept. A careful look at the most important elements of the fine procedures makes it clear how important efficient processing is. According to the legal regulations, the fines vary between at least 5 euros and up to 50,000 euros, depending on the context and type of administrative offense.

reactions to the decision

In contrast to the city of Mainz, the Alzey-Worms district holds the cooperation with Ingelheim, but plans to check the procedures more precisely in the future. This different view of the cooperation shows the tensions and challenges that exist in the field of action of the municipalities. The Mainz and Mainz-Bingen case will therefore also be a test stone for future inter-municipal projects, especially with regard to efficiency and administrative communication.

Finally, it can be stated that the first termination of this cooperation not only affects the city of Mainz, but could also have an example effect for other municipalities. In the future, the development and design of fine procedures will depend heavily on the cooperation between the responsible authorities. The fine procedure in Germany, which punishes various administrative offenses, remains a complex field with numerous legal foundations and possibilities that should benefit the citizens concerned.