On Tuesday, the Taxpayers’ Association once again denounced a number of public projects in Bavaria as a waste of taxpayers’ money. The current nine cases from the Free State include the Munich S-Bahn main line, but also a Christmas tree in Oberstdorf in the Allgäu, which was brought from the Sauerland for 25,000 euros.
In this case, the association particularly criticized the fact that the Christmas tree was transported over a distance of around 600 kilometers in heavy transport. It is puzzling why the Allgäu community did not choose the ecological option and procure a conifer from the Oberallgäu. “Instead of wandering into the distance, a timely look in the local forests for a suitable Christmas tree would have been more sensible and, above all, more cost-effective,” said the Taxpayers’ Association.
The municipality of Oberstdorf does not just leave the allegations alone. Four weeks before the first Advent, no entrepreneur could be found who could deliver a tree from local forests, a spokeswoman for the community said upon request. In addition, the costs were not just for the conifer. The “overall package” also included Christmas trees for the districts and another 30 Nordmann fir trees. The transport therefore cost around 4100 euros.
The tree has already been taken care of for the coming Christmas season: the community has already received four offers from the surrounding area, said the spokeswoman.
The association sees further cases of tax waste in Bavaria, for example in Etzelwand in the Amberg-Sulzbach district: a multifunctional building with a toilet that cost almost 590,000 euros. From the perspective of the Taxpayers’ Association in Bavaria, money was also wasted in the cultural sector, for example in the renovation of the State Theater in Coburg and the State Theater in Augsburg.