The 25 cities and municipalities in the Wetterau have to prepare for more refugees than in recent weeks. So far, the district has taken over the so-called world refugees into its own accommodation and only assigns people from Ukraine to the municipalities. From July onwards, however, he will hand over all the newly arriving men, women and children directly to the municipalities. The district currently has hardly any places available and can no longer buffer the allocation, as the district house in Friedberg announces.
Thorsten Winter
Correspondent of the Rhein-Main-Zeitung for Central Hesse and the Wetterau.
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District Administrator Jan Weckler (CDU) and First District Councillor Stephanie Becker-Bösch (SPD) informed the mayors about the new line in an extraordinary meeting. The chairmen of the parliamentary groups in the district are also in the know.
Accordingly, the district sets up its own initial reception and accommodates newcomers there for at least two weeks. During this time, his employees take care of applications for the refugees, make appointments with the immigration office and set up bank accounts for them. "Only then will the people be redistributed to the municipalities," the district emphasizes. Seriously ill and disabled refugees will be accommodated by the district in their own barrier-free accommodation if places are available.
30 to 40 new arrivals per week
The federal and state governments allocated around 4900 refugees to the Wetterau last year. That was eight times as many as in the previous year. Mathematically, the region grew by a community like Rockenberg. In 2015, there were only half as many people seeking protection. Since January, fewer new refugees have been arriving in the Wetterau than in autumn. However, there are still 30 to 40 week after week. The district and municipalities not only have to provide accommodation for them, but also places in kindergartens and schools. In addition, there is support from social workers, for example.
Since the beginning of last year, the district has created a total of 1100 places in accommodation in Bad Nauheim, Karben, Ortenberg, Reichelsheim, Wölfersheim and on the barracks grounds in Friedberg. About 500 will be added in the next few months. For this purpose, lightweight halls are being built in Friedberg, Rosbach and Wöllstadt. In Karben, the authorities are converting a former gym into refugee accommodation. However, construction progress is not always as rapid as hoped. Among other things, this has to do with unforeseen deficiencies in the building fabric; this includes mold infestation.
Despite great efforts, the Wetterau district has reached the limit of what is possible, emphasize District Administrator Weckler and First District Councillor Becker-Bösch. He could no longer ensure the reception of refugees from all over the world in his own accommodation and could no longer buffer the allocation by the state of Hesse in favor of the municipalities.
In view of this, the district will assign the newly arrived refugees to the cities and municipalities according to a certain key. How many people a municipality has to take in depends on the one hand on its number of inhabitants. On the other hand, the district takes into account the refugees who have been accommodated in the village so far. Some cities, such as Butzbach and Nidda, have more refugees in their ranks than they need to have, while others, including Bad Vilbel and Karben, have fewer.
Büdingen and Friedberg left out
The municipalities must then accommodate the newcomers in suitable rooms and look after them, the district administration emphasizes, referring to the state reception law. Only Büdingen and Friedberg are exempt from this rule, because there is an initial reception of the state.
In order to facilitate the transition and to pass on the necessary knowledge, the Wetterau district offers short-term and regular meetings for the responsible employees of the cities and municipalities. "The district is also available to advise on the acquisition of new accommodation by the cities and municipalities if necessary - for example in terms of fire protection, equipment and requirements to be met," says the district house.