City economy

The term urban economy is used in particular in the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia as a name for a company or an organizational unit that provides waste disposal and street cleaning activities within local authorities . This concept of urban economy is not to be confused with the concept of urban economy in economic level theory .

term

The term urban economy as used in this article is used to denote a company or a legally or economically dependent entity. He is usually combined with the place in which his main area of activity is located, or with the place where the respective main shareholder is based. In addition, there is the respective legal form in which the company or organizational unit carries out the activities.

Examples of city economies are: Geraer Stadtwirtschaft GmbH , Hallesche Wasser und Stadtwirtschaft GmbH ( Stadtwirtschaft Halle ), SWE Stadtwirtschaft GmbH , Stadtwirtschaft Neubrandenburg GmbH and Stadtwirtschaft Eisenhüttenstadt GmbH and Stadtwirtschaft Weimar GmbH .

Similar terms in company names come before “ Stadtreinigung ” (for example: Stadtreinigung Hamburg AöR , Eigenbetrieb Stadtreinigung Leipzig and BSR Berliner Stadtreinigung AöR ) and “ Abfallwirtschaft ” (for example: waste management Landkreis Osnabrück GmbH , waste management Dithmarschen and waste management and city cleaning Freiburg GmbH ).

Business activity / business areas

The business activity usually extends to the fields:

Depending on the company or the strategic direction of business operations, there are also business areas such as:

Operation of waste sorting / waste treatment plants ,
Operation of wastewater disposal systems ,
Building cleaning ,
Operation of waste incineration plants ,
Operation of landfill as well
Green space management .

Occasionally, business areas such as local public transport and sports facilities are also operated.

Ownership and legal forms

Most of them are municipal companies owned by local authorities (districts, cities and municipalities). The legal forms used are legal entities (mostly limited liability companies - GmbH - or the public-law institution - AöR), but also legally and partly also economically dependent independent companies and government companies .

In some cases, the local authorities have sold all or part of the business shares in urban economies. Therefore, there are also mixed-economy companies in which third-party investments - mostly from waste disposal companies in private ownership - hold shares.

Collective agreement affiliation

For the most part, these companies apply the collective agreement for the public service (TVöD). In some cases, the collective agreement of the BDE (Federal Association of the German Waste Management Industry) or a house-based solution can be found.

Economic orientation

In contrast to waste disposal companies with private ownership structures, city economies are not primarily geared towards making a profit, but are based on the lowest possible fee for the services of waste disposal and street cleaning for the citizens of the respective shareholder municipality . In addition, when calculating their prices or fees, they are usually subject to the strict regulations of the respective municipal tax laws and the regulations on pricing for public contracts.

Industry association

Many of the city economies are organized in association with other municipal waste management and city cleaning companies in the Association of Municipal Companies (VkU) or the Association of Municipal Waste Management and City Cleaning in the VkU (VkS in the VKU).

Regionality principle

The companies or organizational units are mostly based on a strict regional principle and conduct their business activities predominantly within the area of the municipality (municipality, city or district) that is also a partner. In order to be able to survive in the competition for commercial waste in particular, some of the companies also offer their services in the surrounding area.