From December 16 to 18, the Karlsruhe City Council will hold negotiations for the 2026/2027 financial years, including the handling of budget protection measures. A total of 369 agenda items will be discussed. Here you can find the most important voting results in the live update:
Agenda item 36: The abolition of the social conservation statute for Südstadt.
The municipal council has decided to abolish the social conservation statutes. In the opinion of FÜR Karlsruhe, the conservation statutes for Südstadt have long been in need of reform. Now, with the approval of FÜR Karlsruhe, the municipal council has decided to abolish the regulation, which had proven to be a bureaucratic monster from the outset.
Agenda item 44: Digital sovereignty
This motion was intended to commission the City of Karlsruhe to set up an office for digital sovereignty. The motion did not receive the required majority in the budget negotiations. Lord Mayor Frank Mentrup assured the municipal council that the topic of digital sovereignty is being taken seriously and that the topic will be put back on the agenda at a later date.
Agenda item 81: Increase in resident parking permit fees
The municipal council has decided to increase the fees for resident parking permits. The costs will be doubled from € 180 to € 360. City Councillor Friedemann Kalmbach (FÜR Karlsruhe) spoke out against the proposal and refused to approve it. Although FÜR Karlsruhe recognizes the city’s need for additional revenue to cope with the considerable budget deficit, it considers it inadequate to cover this need to a considerable extent by levying further taxes, charges and increasing fines.
Agenda item 143: Badisches Staatstheater
Due to tight municipal budgets, savings must also be made in the area of culture. For smaller theaters, independent cultural institutions, but especially for the even greater reduction in grants to sports clubs with youth work, etc., such a cut means an existential threat, as they have hardly any reserves and can react much less flexibly. The Badisches Staatstheater has a much larger budget, more diverse internal structures and significantly broader opportunities to reduce costs without jeopardizing its existence or basic function. In the opinion of City Councillor Kalmbach, it therefore seems appropriate to make additional savings of 2 million euros in the cultural sector at the State Theatre in order not to destroy smaller institutions. At the same time, this serves to safeguard cultural diversity and the important task of introducing children and young people in particular to sport with its positive effects on their development.
This proposal was rejected by a majority of the municipal council.
Agenda item 187: Jewish cemetery in Karlsruhe – preserving history, promoting encounters
The motion submitted by the Jewish Community of Karlsruhe was approved by a majority of Karlsruhe City Council. Under the title “Jewish Cemetery Karlsruhe – Preserving History, Promoting Encounters”, an intensive cooperation with the City of Karlsruhe to promote educational and public relations work on the history of the Jewish cemetery, cooperation on guided tours, project days and mediation days as well as the promotion of voluntary work in the areas of maintenance, documentation and preservation of the historic cemetery site was agreed.
FÜR Karlsruhe supports this cooperation and is expressly pleased about the opportunity to promote historical awareness and send a signal to the city society in times of growing pressure on Jewish communities
Agenda item 218: Mitigating the reduction in homelessness assistance
In an inter-party motion, the municipal council has decided to mitigate the planned cuts to homelessness assistance. Instead of the annual reduction of EUR 500,000 proposed by the administration, a reduction of EUR 430,000 is now being sought. The aim of these measures is to ensure the continuation of homelessness assistance projects. The aim is to help people who have been homeless for many years to find permanent accommodation and prevent them from losing it. In addition, the care of increasingly older homeless people, who have little chance of finding a place in a care home, will continue. The aim is to give these people access to the healthcare system again.
Agenda item 225: New regulation for the reduction of the sibling allowance
After a long debate on the reduction of the sibling allowance, the municipal council agreed on a new procedure for the reduction of the sibling allowance. The city administration had planned a gradual reduction in the sibling allowance, which would have resulted in the complete discontinuation of the sibling allowance on September 1, 2027. The municipal council has now decided that the complete discontinuation of the sibling subsidy in 2027 will only take place if the municipal council has found and decided on a new regulation for the structure of childcare fees by then. Otherwise, the sibling subsidy will remain at 50% of the current level.
Agenda item 242: Midwives to be retained in family centers
The municipal council’s resolution stipulates that midwife consultations in the family centers will continue to be funded. The originally planned reduction in funding of 58,000 euros was reduced to 8,000 euros. This means that 50,000 euros will be available for midwife consultations in future. The aim is to continue to provide families – especially those on low incomes or with little experience of state support – with low-threshold access to midwives and “early help”.
Agenda item 262: Rheinbad Rappenwört
Following a decision by the municipal council, the city administration is commissioned to work in cooperation with the Rheinstrandbad Rappenwört e.V. support association on the development of a concept or operator model that will enable the reopening of the Rheinstrandbad by the new operator from 2026 or 2027. To secure the operation from 2026, € 500,000 will be made available in the budget with a blocking note.
The city administration had recommended rejecting the application as it fell under the “voluntary services” category and was not financially viable from the administration’s point of view. Lord Mayor Mentrup accordingly voted against the application.
The applications that were processed on the second day of the budget negotiations, 17.12.2025, now follow:
Agenda item 115: Childcare provision at all-day elementary school
The city administration’s original plan was to cancel the flexible childcare provision at all-day elementary school. Following persistent complaints from many parents and concerns from some city council groups, a compromise proposal from the city administration has now been agreed: The childcare offer will be retained.
Agenda item 124: Youth subsidy in sports funding
Due to cost-cutting plans, the city administration had pushed for the complete abolition of the youth subsidy for sports clubs. The youth grant currently stands at 15 euros per young person. The cut is now not complete, but will be reduced to 5 euros per young person. Still a painful cut, but the sports clubs will not be left completely to their own devices.
Agenda item 270: Transformation of Werderplatz into a “village square”
Bürger-Gesellschaft Südstadt proposes in a motion that Werderplatz be redesigned. As a central location in Südstadt, Werderplatz is to become more inviting, beautiful and attractive and a pleasant place to spend time. The transformation of the central square requires 90,000 euros in funding. This was rejected by the municipal council.
The applications that were processed on the third day of the budget negotiations, 18.12.2025, now follow:
Agenda item 351: Limiting borrowing to 25 years
In order to be able to afford financing, the City of Karlsruhe no longer has to finance loans for 25 years, as was previously the case, but in some cases for up to 50 years. Although this doubling of the terms relieves the budget in the short term, it leads to significantly higher overall costs in the long term, as interest is incurred over a much longer period. This shifts a considerable financial burden into the future and places it on future generations. Dealing with the city’s finances in this way contradicts the principle of intergenerational budget management, which focuses on long-term stability rather than short-term relief.
FÜR Karlsruhe is requesting that the maximum term for loan repayments be limited to 25 years again.
