When the polls are called on Sunday (March 15th), there will be a second ballot paper in Haunetal: the mayoral election will take place. Incumbent Timo Lübeck (CDU) is the only candidate.

Haunetal – The 42-year-old, who grew up in the Rhina district and now lives there again after several years in Berlin, has big projects that will keep him busy in his second term in office – if he maintains the trust of the voters.

This can be assumed. Lübeck was elected mayor of the market town for the first time in November 2020. At that time he had an opposing candidate: the independent Gerd Lang, who had confidently prevailed against the candidates from the CDU and SPD in 2014, was pushed out of the executive chair in the town hall by Lübeck six years ago with 60 percent.

Mayor Timo Lübeck is running for re-election in Haunetal

They should be back in there next Sunday. Even significantly more. Lübeck, who trained as an administrative employee under his predecessor Hein-Peter Möller (SPD), took Haunetal out of the headlines. The Christian Democrat ran with the slogan “Haunetal can do more”. In his term of office that is coming to an end, the 42-year-old can count on constructive cooperation in the local council. “I feel well supported by everyone,” says Lübeck. A lot has been mastered, now we have a “completely different situation” and most decisions are made unanimously, even though we don’t always agree. The CDU member still rejects the term “opposition”: “I don’t see it as opposition.”

Drinking water and wastewater is one of the major issues that will concern Lübeck. “It’s our turn when it comes to drinking water,” reports the old and presumably new mayor. “When it comes to wastewater, it still depends on the EU regulations and how strict they become.” If the high standards remain, Haunetal will have to invest in two central sewage treatment plants. “This would cause prices to rise exorbitantly,” predicts Lübeck, who still hopes that the standards will be turned upside down in the legislative process.

The second big topic is the fire departments. The considerations there are similar to those with water: centralized or decentralized? “Many districts would understandably like to keep their fire department,” admits the town hall boss. However, there are good organizational and tactical reasons for merging several fire departments, even though this would initially involve enormous investment costs for a new building. “We are already working together on day-to-day availability,” reports Lübeck.

Tight finances determine development in the market town

In the end, the decision would be made by the community representatives, but it would be foolish to decide against the wishes of the comrades. “As mayor, I have to reconcile two things: it has to be affordable and it has to be widely accepted.”

“Affordable” is the term that stands above all projects. As is well known, municipal finances are not a bed of roses. Nevertheless, the market town has managed to even generate a small surplus in 2025 through austerity measures, which can be used to offset the current deficit. Therefore, the approval of the budget by the supervisory authority was only a formality. “But the financial situation remains tense,” emphasizes Lübeck.

He illustrates this using the example of the daycare center, which was able to look forward to a new extension in 2025. The legislature sets requirements, but does not contribute sufficiently to the costs, reports Lübeck, “the personnel expenses are not seriously counter-financed at all”. Currently there is only around 43 percent cost coverage for child care, the rest remains with the municipality, which is currently more than 800,000 euros annually.

Added to this is the Good Daycare Act, which will soon require an even higher staffing ratio. “We are trying to move in the middle – above the minimum standard, but below the requirements of the new law,” says Lübeck. “But even if we had more money, it would be difficult to get staff.” The market was empty. There would be a slight relaxation if we managed to get educators from Thuringia. There is an overhang there in the future that could free up capacity.

Urban mixed area “East of the B27” is about to be developed

A major cost factor in the municipalities of the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district is the district and school levy, which is why the property tax was increased in Haunetal. “We figured it out: If we go to the circle Fulda If we were to belong, we would have half a million euros more a year.”

On the income side, Lübeck is pinning its hopes on the commercial area north of the core town of Neukirchen. “About half is still to be marketed and we are optimistic that the space will go away because commercial areas are finite.” He would like to see businesses with added value, instead of a large hall that is only used as a warehouse.

And then Lübeck will deal with the so-called urban mixed area “East of the B27” in his likely second term in office – and probably even beyond. The community representatives have passed the statute resolution, now things are slowly getting started: around 20 building sites, each roughly 800 square meters, although Lübeck admits that there is still room for maneuver. He has already heard of municipalities in the countryside that have defined 400 square meters as the standard size: “We are not that far along yet, even though the 1200 square meter properties that were available in the districts are a thing of the past.”

In addition to the building sites, “compatible businesses” are to be located there; Another area is to be used for municipal purposes. Lübeck can imagine a fire station that would accommodate the fire departments of several districts.

In the end, everything depends on finances, Lübeck repeats like a mantra. “It has to be affordable.” I'm glad the mayor therefore talks about the many clubs and volunteerswho are committed to the community: “That's what makes Haunetal so special. We absolutely have to maintain these structures,” says Lübeck. Otherwise, in the end all that remains is completing compulsory tasks, as was already critically noted by the local council. CDU man Timo Lübeck contradicts this: “The municipality has to be more.”