Summary of a report on developments and decisions for the period up to the end of April 2020
As in all other parts of the world, the Corona pandemic is a fundamental, incisive and major challenge for Dortmund. Since the end of January this year, the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has been present in Germany and since then attempts have been made at all levels (federal, state and local)
to keep the number of infections with the virus as low as possible. In addition, the primary objective is to delay contagion as much as possible in order not to overburden the health system and to reduce the number of deaths caused by COVID-19 by providing as sufficient an intensive care unit as possible.
The measures to achieve these goals are essentially – as in almost every other part of the world – a far-reaching reduction in public life and restrictions on contact between people. The impact on all areas of society and individual life is enormous and for many people on the verge
of endangering their livelihoods. Here, too, politics is trying to minimise the impact on the economy, on the labour market, on the school system and on the social situation of many people by providing a lot of money in many bailouts.
In order to show the development of the last few weeks in Dortmund, the measures and decisions at the different levels must be taken into account. The requirements of the federal level as well as the decrees of the state government are in many cases the basis for the action of the city. In addition, the city can take its own measures, provided that they are within the framework of federal and state law.
The Corona pandemic and the associated shutdown with its extensive containment measures also reached the Dortmund labour market in April and led to a sharp increase in unemployment reports. The rate is currently 11.2 percent, a similar rate the city last recorded in April 2017. While 35,450
people are registered as unemployed, labour demand continues to decline.
The spread of the coronavirus and the associated current restrictions on public life have profound consequences for the entire population and on all areas of our lives. In particular, it is the vulnerable groups that need special support including:
Homelessness: The care of homeless people must be guaranteed.
Domestic violence: Due to the isolation in one’s own home, an increase in domestic violence is to be expected. Care for the elderly: The ban on contact in old people’s facilities leaves many residents without contact with their own families. People with disabilities: Again, there is a ban on contacting
residents of facilities for people with disabilities.
The situation of refugees was not easy even before Corona and is exacerbated by the current situation. It is important to support social services that these vulnerable groups have in mind. However, the help often fails due to the lack of suitable protective equipment (medical mouth-nose masks and protective clothing).
While companies and the self-employed are rightly given aid against economic failures, so far there is no bailout for the local level. Cities and municipalities need additional state services in the context of the impact of the Corona pandemic in order to continue to guarantee community capacity and services of general interest. As a result of the Corona crisis, all cities, including Dortmund, will suffer huge revenue losses in the area of business tax and income from the municipal share of income and turnover taxes. At the same time, a rise in unemployment will increase the municipal costs of
unemployment benefits. There are now plans in NRW for municipalities to isolate the Corona related costs from the municipal budget and to pay them over the next 50 years.
With the contact restrictions, a regular meeting of the political bodies in the Council of the City of Dortmund is severely restricted. Group meetings are reduced and/or in the form of videoconferencing. Committee meetings were cancelled in March and will only take place in a reduced number of members in the coming months. Council meetings are currently being replaced by meetings of the Main Committee. Instead of 94 people, only 15 people decide on the developments of the city. This democratic deficit should be remedied as soon as possible. For the June Council meeting, it is planned to move to a larger hall outside the town hall, where at least
significantly more members of the Council can meet and still comply with the distance regulations.
There is currently intense debate on whether, how and to what extent the restrictions of recent weeks can be relaxed or lifted. After the great acceptance of the measures taken by the population in recent weeks, an increasing need for mobility is again beginning in Dortmund .
The great challenge in the near future will be to strike a balance between individual freedom, the economic future of companies, securing the livelihoods of the self-employed on the one hand, and
avoiding the next wave of COVID-19 diseases and deaths on the other.
This presentation cannot claim to be exhaustive. To this end, the overall problem is far too complex and subject to permanent changes.
I hope this report will help you a little bit in your situation.
Regardless: Stay safe and healthy!
Uli Langhorst