City society decides - voting on the citizens' budget starts on 01.10.2021

From Friday, 01.10.2021, residents aged 16 and over can vote on the valid proposals online or via ballot paper for five weeks. On 10.10.2021, there will also be an opportunity to vote on Car Free Sunday.

From July 1 to August 31, suggestions could be submitted by the urban community. A total of 62 proposals were received by the Central Coordination for Citizen Participation during this period. All proposals were checked by the administration to see whether they complied with the regulations. If a proposal is invalid, the administration provides a justification, which can be found on the website. The results were discussed in the Citizen Participation Advisory Board on 14.09.2021 and 32 proposals can now be put to the vote.

"The opportunity to help shape the citizens' budget is being increasingly accepted by citizens. Twenty more proposals than last year is a good sign. I would like to thank all those who submitted proposals, as well as my colleagues for reviewing them," - says Christian Gerlitz, Mayor and Head of Urban Development and Environment.

The valid proposals amounted to a total of €175,526.50. The residents now have the choice of which measures the €100,000 to be awarded should go towards. There were various reasons why only just over half of the proposals were put to the vote this year. The budget cap of €10,000 was a common reason. For some proposals, the issue was not within the city's remit and there were also some proposals that were already in the planning stage due to city council resolutions.

The rules of the citizens' budget stipulate that only people who live in Jena and are at least 16 years old can vote. Registration is therefore required for online voting. Personal data must be entered on the ballot papers. This year, it is again possible to post the ballot papers not only in the city's deadline letterbox, but also to the local mayors (OTB).

All explanations and the addresses of the participating OTBs can be found on the "Citizens' budget 2021" topic page.