Confusion about the Starnberg depot: hourly rates are exploding!

Confusion about the Starnberg depot: hourly rates are exploding!

The budgetary situation in Starnberg remains a major challenge, which was put back on the main committee's agenda on October 28, 2025. The focus was on the depot billing rates for the 2026 financial year. How Mercury reports, Mayor Patrick Janik described this issue as one of the biggest mysteries of his career. However, head of administration Ludwig Beck emphasized that the figures presented were “extraordinarily well documented,” which gave some committee members reassurance during the discussion.

What was astonishing were the high hourly rates charged for the company's services such as mowing grass, flushing canals and excavating work. For example, the calculated hourly rate for staff increases to a whopping 82.60 euros; last year it was 75 euros net. And an adjustment for inflation for 2025 and 2026 is not yet included. This caused a murmur among the committee members. Josef Pfister, city councilor for “Alliance Mitte Starnberg”, even expressed doubts about his own calculations.

High hourly rates and their causes

The depot has already implemented services worth around 4.9 million euros in 2023, but a deficit of around 572,000 euros was identified in the administrative budget. To turn things around, the Budget and Finance Committee has decided to increase tariffs for the coming year in order to create cost neutrality. The Bavarian Municipal Audit Association also recommended an annual adjustment of the billing rates due to changing costs, such as labor and material prices, which were not taken into account.

A high number of sick leaves and unclear billable hours also contribute to the high hourly rates, with the mayor pointing out that the depot often has to outsource gardening work because it is overloaded. The calculated hourly rate for personnel and machines is therefore not only determined by the calculation method. It results from the total number of hours worked divided by the number of depot employees.

Outlook for future adjustments

The city has also thought about staff utilization in the past. Michael Mignoli from the Citizens' List asked about the possibilities of the depot and a possible increase in staff. However, Winfried Wobbe from the Independent Voters' Association had doubts about possible overcrowding. In contrast, Rudolf Zirngibl from the CSU expressed his distrust of the external costs of 110 euros per hour of helper. Even though Ludwig Beck promised to work on the "adjustments" to consolidate the city's finances by 2026, the question remains whether the billing rates will have to be adjusted again next year.

Finally, it should be noted that the current financial situation of the Starnberg depot represents a balancing act. High hourly rates in conjunction with further adjustments could further heat up tempers in the future and the issue, which has already been described as an “eternal puzzle”, will probably not be solved so quickly.