town hall

Municipal council

The municipal council and the mayor are the administrative bodies of the city. The municipal council represents the citizens and, as the main body of the municipality, defines the principles of municipal administration, decides on municipal affairs (unless the mayor is responsible by law) and controls the municipal administration.

The Council

  • issues statutes (legislation at local level),
  • sets the budget (finances),
  • decides on the order and design of the community area (planning),
  • decides on the recruitment and dismissal of community employees (staff).

The number of councilors depends on the population of the municipality. For example, for communities with

  • Eight municipal councils are planned for fewer than 1,000 residents,
  • more than 400,000 inhabitants no more than 60.

The members of the municipal council - like members of parliament - are obliged to decide within the framework of the law and according to their free conviction, determined by the public good. They are not bound by any orders, so their mandate is not imperative. The municipal council of the city of Heidenheim consists of the mayor as chairman and, as stipulated in the main statute, 32 honorary members (city councilors). Since the last local election in 2014, however, the local council has 34 voluntary members, as the bogus choice of part of the town resulted in 2 compensation seats. The local councils in Baden-Württemberg are voluntary. They receive compensation for their loss of earnings and reimbursement of expenses. In Heidenheim, the statutes on compensation for voluntary work stipulate a lump-sum compensation in the form of an expense allowance. The municipal regulations for Baden-Württemberg and the main statutes of the city of Heidenheim regulate further details for the municipal council. Further information can be found in the citizen information portal.

Contact

Allgemeine zentrale Verwaltungsaufgaben und Geschäftsstelle Gemeinderat
Grabenstraße 15
89522 Heidenheim an der Brenz
Fax (0 73 21) 3 23-21 11