If Peter Freier is presumably voted out of office as CDU treasurer by the new traffic light coalition in the Offenbach city council in June before the summer break, he will leave an extremely demanding position. However, he already knew this when he took office in 2016, when he moved from the higher administrative service of the Hessian police to the position of treasurer, department head for investments, law and integration in Offenbach. Being responsible for the budget of a city that was (and is) among the poorest and most indebted in Hesse and beyond could not be an easy task. And yet in the conversation about his years as a treasurer it becomes clear that he enjoyed and still enjoys doing municipal financial management - even under the most difficult conditions.In any case, those in Freier's hometown are not easy to this day.
Jochen Remmert
Airport editor and correspondent Rhein-Main-Süd.
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The heavyweight, born in 1966, sat in the city council for many years before he took office.
That is why he not only knew about the delicate financial situation, it was also clear to him that the city had to cope with a huge integration task.
The proportion of the population with foreign roots was 60.7 percent when he took office in 2016.
Three years later it was already 63 percent, and the trend is rising.
The fact that such an integration task cannot succeed if there is no comprehensive care in day-care centers and not enough well-equipped schools that open up educational opportunities is likely to have been just as clear to Freier as the responsible head of education, Paul-Gerhard Weiß (FDP).
A balanced budget for three years in a row
With that one of the most demanding tasks of a suitor as a treasurer is already mentioned.
With this knowledge, the city planned an investment program of 327.9 million euros for the years 2019 to 2022.
A huge package that includes the construction of a high school and three elementary schools.
At the same time, Offenbach had to join the state's partial debt relief program known as the “municipal protective shield” in 2013.
The municipal financial supervisory authority made this a condition for the further approval of the Offenbach households.
And even Kämmerer Freier had to struggle year after year to draw up a budget that would stand up to the scrutiny of the Darmstadt regional council.
In fact, Freier, who also became mayor in 2018, has last been able to present a balanced budget for three years in a row. However, the 2019 budget was initially rejected by the financial regulator. The justification stated that the job creation and the high investments for the construction and renovation of schools were not matched by the city's adequate financial capacity. The regional council demanded that Offenbach must increase its regular income quickly, significantly and permanently.