At its meeting today, the Chemnitz City Council adopted a new statute on the financing of the parliamentary groups and at the same time determined the specific amount of funding for the parliamentary groups for the 2026 financial year. This creates a clear, transparent and legally secure framework for the work of the city council's political groups.
The parliamentary groups play a central role in the political work of the City Council. They consolidate the positions of the elected city councillors, prepare decisions and contribute to the formation of political opinion. To enable them to fulfil these tasks, the City of Chemnitz provides financial resources as well as certain materials and services, such as rooms for parliamentary group work or technical equipment.
The new statutes set out binding rules on how these funds are provided, utilised and accounted for. At the same time, the funding system is being reorganised. In future, parliamentary group funding will consist of a fixed basic amount of 65,000 euros per parliamentary group and 6,000 euros per group member. The basic amount ensures that each parliamentary group has basic financial and technical resources, regardless of its size. The additional per capita amount also takes into account the respective size of the parliamentary group.
The amounts for parliamentary group funding are to be adjusted annually in future. The benchmark here is the development of the City of Chemnitz's personnel costs in line with the collective agreement for the public service of local authorities (TVöD). The adjustment will be made in connection with the resolution on the budget.
The determination of the parliamentary group funds will result in additional expenses of around €153,931 in 2026. These will be over-allocated in the 2026 financial year.
One of the reasons for the new regulation is the previous funding system, in which the basic amount was reduced if the number of parliamentary groups increased. This could penalise smaller groups in particular. The new regulation ensures an even and comprehensible distribution of funds.
The statutes also contain more precise guidelines on the use of group funds. These may only be used for tasks that are directly related to the work of the city council. Use for party work, election advertising or private purposes is expressly excluded.
The new statutes and the specified funding are intended to ensure that the working conditions of the parliamentary groups are reliable in the long term and at the same time create transparent and legally secure regulations for the use of funds. The statutes will enter into force retroactively from 1 January 2026.
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