From BZ/dpa
Berlin is set to get more citizens’ offices in the next two years.
A new one has already started on Klosterstrasse in Mitte, and four are expected to be added in 2024 and 2025, as the State Secretary for Digitalization and Administrative Modernization, Martina Klement, said on Friday. They are in Spandau, Marzahn-Hellersdorf, Treptow-Köpenick and Pankow planned. The need is greatest in these four districts, said Klement.
She assumes that the first two in Spandau and Marzahn-Hellersdorf will go into operation next year. We already have possible locations in mind. No location has yet been determined in Pankow. The start of the new citizens’ office is therefore only realistic in 2025. “If it goes faster, it would of course be nice.”
The old town hall in Köpenick is currently being rebuilt. “The entire district office moved to Adlershof and opened a citizens’ office there,” said Klement. The idea is that this citizens’ office will remain there when the district office moves back to Köpenick town hall. In this case too, implementation is expected to take place in 2025.
There will be 100 additional positions for the other citizens’ offices, 20 of which are reserved for the citizens’ office in Mitte. In the meantime, the distribution, which was certainly controversial, has been clarified, said Klement. For example, the question was whether they should only go to districts that are opening new locations or be distributed to everyone.
It has now been agreed that the districts of Mahrzahn-Hellersdorf and Spandau will each receive twelve positions and the remaining ones will initially be distributed among the remaining nine districts. Twelve positions are also planned for Pankow and Treptow-Köpenick. The positions required there should then be handed over to the two districts when the planned new citizens’ offices open.
The Senate is concerned that the additional positions actually benefit the citizens directly: “We have agreed that the employees will only be used in the front office of the Citizens’ Office,” said Klement. “In addition to the 100 positions, we will set up a spring pool with up to 20 people with whom we want to cope with peaks in demand in the citizens’ offices.”