Mayor (Baden-Württemberg)
A mayor is the head of a municipality or city . This article describes the position of the mayor in Baden-Württemberg municipalities.
Official title
In urban districts (i.e. district-free cities ) and large district towns , the mayor has the official title of Lord Mayor ( Section 42 GemO). In the mentioned municipalities, the municipal council may determine that other aldermen the official title of mayor is awarded. The following explanations relate to the head of the municipality, not to councilors, regardless of the official title.
Sometimes there is also talk of Schultes (in Swabian ) .
General
Baden-Württemberg municipal law follows the so-called model of the southern German council constitution . This gives the directly elected mayor a relatively strong position vis-à-vis the municipal council . This is stipulated in the Baden-Württemberg municipal code (GemO). In the GemO, the 3rd section (§ § 42 to 55) regulates the role of the mayor.
Legal status of the mayor (§ 42 GemO)
The mayor is the chairman of the municipal council and the head of the municipal administration . He represents the community externally.
In municipalities with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants, the mayor is usually an honorary temporary officer . By way of derogation, in municipalities with more than 500 inhabitants it can be stipulated in the main statute that the mayor is a full-time civil servant (full-time mayor), as in other municipalities.
The mayor's term of office is eight years. The term of office begins with the assumption of office; in the case of re-election, the new term of office follows the end of the previous term of office.
After giving up his position, the mayor continues to conduct business until the newly elected mayor takes office; his employment relationship continues for so long. That doesn't apply if
- he has given written notification before his position became vacant that he refuses to continue the business,
- he is temporarily exempt from service,
- a crime has been brought against him, or if
- he is not re-elected after the exclusion from local elections has been determined, regardless of the election review and election contestation. If no applicant was chosen in the first ballot, the result of the new election is decisive.
The salary is regulated in the state municipal salary law, the amount of the salary depends, among other things, on the size of the municipality and the seniority.
Mayor as chairman of the municipal council (§ 43 GemO)
The mayor's strong position is also expressed in the fact that he chairs the local council ( local parliament). He thus prepares the meetings of the municipal council and the committees and implements the resolutions ( § 43 GemO).
Furthermore , the mayor has to object to illegal resolutions of the municipal council. If he only thinks they are detrimental to the church, he can object. The objection has a suspensive effect. The consequence of the objection is that the municipal council has to vote again on the matter after three weeks at the latest (suspensive veto ).
In urgent matters of the municipal council, where the urgency does not permit a meeting of the municipal council, the mayor decides instead of the municipal council.
Mayor as head of the municipal administration (§ 44 GemO)
The mayor heads the municipal administration. It determines the organization of the municipal administration and, in agreement with the municipal council, determines the division of responsibilities between the councilors ( Section 44 GemO).
The mayor is the superior, superior and the highest service authority of the community employees.
Election of mayor
Electoral principles (§ 45 GemO)
The mayor is acc. § 45 GemO elected by the citizens in general, direct, free, equal and secret ballot . The election is to be carried out according to the principles of majority voting. Whoever received more than half of the valid votes is elected.
If no applicant receives more than half of the valid votes, a new election will take place on the second and at the latest on the fourth Sunday after the election. The principles of the first election apply to new elections ; the highest number of votes decides, in the event of a tie, the lot. In this case, a new job advertisement is not required.
Candidates who did not stand for election in the first ballot can also run for the new election. In this case, however, there are only a few days left to collect the necessary support signatures. Likewise, applicants who ran in the original election can withdraw their candidacy for the new election.
In contrast to other federal states, in Baden-Württemberg, if no applicant has achieved an absolute majority in the first ballot , there is no runoff between the two most successful candidates, but a new election takes place in which the relative majority of the votes is sufficient.
Eligibility (§ 46 GemO)
Eligible for mayor are acc. § 46 GemO Germans within the meaning of Art. 116 of the Basic Law and Union citizens who live in the Federal Republic of Germany before the application is approved , the applicants must be 25 on election day , but must not yet have reached the age of 68 and must have the guarantee offer that they stand up for the free democratic basic order within the meaning of the Basic Law at all times .
It is not possible to elect who is excluded from eligibility for the municipal council . Furthermore, it is not possible to choose who has been removed from the service as an official in the formal disciplinary procedure by judgment , or against whom a corresponding measure has been imposed in a procedure corresponding to the disciplinary procedure in another member state of the European Union , in which the judgment has become final or five years following the corresponding measure; Removal from service is equivalent to the withdrawal of the pension for retired officials.
Employees of the legal supervisory authority , the superior and supreme legal supervisory authority, the district office and the district cannot be mayors at the same time. The mayor cannot hold another post in the municipality at the same time or be its other servant.
Time of election and job advertisement (§ 47 GemO)
If the election of the mayor is necessary due to the end of the term of office or due to retirement or departure due to reaching the age limit , it must be carried out at the earliest three months and at the latest one month before the position becomes vacant, in other cases no later than three months after the position becomes vacant. The election can be postponed up to one year after the position becomes vacant if the municipality is about to be dissolved ( Section 47 GemO).
The position of the full-time mayor must be publicly advertised no later than two months before the election day. The municipality can give the applicants whose applications have been accepted the opportunity to introduce themselves to the citizens in a public meeting.
Early termination of the term of office (§ 128 GemO) and deselection
The term of office of a mayor can be declared prematurely ended. The decision is made by the administrative court. The regional council as the higher legal supervisory authority can apply for this . The criteria for this are set out very generally in § 128 GemO: 1. The mayor does not meet the requirements of his office and 2. This leads to significant deficiencies in the administration, so that a continuation of the office is not justifiable in the public interest.
A mayor cannot be voted out of office in Baden-Württemberg - i.e. shortening his regular term of office through an election initiated early. The possible creation of a right to vote out was the subject of a small inquiry in the state parliament in 1998.
In everyday language, one also speaks of deselection when an elected mayor stands for another election after the end of the election period and is not re-elected.
literature
- Vinzenz Huzel: Mayors in Baden-Württemberg. An office in transition. Nomos, Baden-Baden 2019, ISBN 978-3-8487-6240-8 .
- Timm Kern : Why are mayors voted out? A study from Baden-Württemberg over the period from 1973 to 2003. Kohlhammer-Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-17-019989-7 .
- Hans-Georg Wehling , Hans-Jörg Siewert: The mayor of Baden-Württemberg. A monograph. ( Theodor Eschenburg on his 80th birthday on October 24, 1984). Kohlhammer, Stuttgart [a. a.] 1984, ISBN 3-17-008613-8 (2nd edition. ibid 1987, ISBN 3-17-009742-3 ).