Babenhausen – The city grows and grows. Numerous families have already moved into the newly built houses in the Lachewiesen, and the Michelsbräu and Grünewald areas will be developed in the foreseeable future.

Everything is topped by the upcoming settlement of the former barracks area. Around 2,000 people will find a new home in the new district of “Imperial Gardens” in the next two to three years.

“With regard to the completion and the availability of the building areas, the need for security of the residents is also growing,” says an application from the CDU parliamentary group. She therefore demands that a branch of the Dieburg police station be set up in Babenhausen, which is manned around the clock if possible. In addition to the expected increase in population, the CDU cites a further argument that the Gersprenzstadt has “an above-average proportion of migrants compared to other cities in the district with the same number of inhabitants”.

It is not the first time that this topic has been on the agenda. As Mayor Joachim Knoke (SPD) reported on request, it was discussed and rejected at the time when the Hessian initial reception facility for refugees was set up on the barracks grounds. Personally, however, he would prefer the police to show presence with patrols in Babenhausen than when officers are sitting in a station, according to Knoke. On request, the police headquarters in South Hesse said that no police post was required due to the knowledge of the situation. In addition, the press spokeswoman refers to the policeman on site with an office in the town hall.

This is also where the city’s auxiliary police officers are based. Two of the three approved positions are currently filled. It will probably take until August until there will be three auxiliary police officers again after an advertisement, estimates Heiko Duda, the head of the public order department. A total of five auxiliary police officers are provided for in the establishment plan, two of which are barred from being reoccupied. The SPD parliamentary group is now making another attempt to vacate another position.

The reason given by the Social Democrats is that urgent activities such as monitoring stationary and moving traffic and punishing illegal waste disposal cannot be fully carried out due to a lack of staff. The SPD expects additional costs of around 26,200 euros this year and then 52,400 euros for the following years. It should be taken into account that the work of the auxiliary police also generates income and “can, if necessary, completely offset the personnel costs”, the SPD woos for approval.

Public meeting

In the main committee, which will meet this evening in the town hall from 7.30 p.m., the agenda includes not only the CDU and SPD applications, but also the replacement of a work platform and the purchase of land for the school sports grounds.