Bavarian cities split on fining unruly councillors, with Augsburg and Nuremberg opting out for now
Munich, Regensburg and Ingolstadt have adopted new rules to fine disruptive councillors up to 1,000 euros, but Augsburg and Nuremberg have held back, leaving a patchwork of enforcement across Bavaria's largest cities.
A new tool for meeting chairs
After a change to Bavaria's municipal code, cities and towns can now fine local councillors who significantly disrupt proceedings. A first offence costs up to 500 euros, with repeat offenders facing 1,000 euros. The decision rests with the meeting chair (the mayor), but requires majority approval from the council or committee. Those who feel unfairly penalised can challenge the fine in court.
The previous options were not sufficiently differentiated.
Before the reform, chairs could only issue informal warnings or expel a member from one or more sessions. The state government pushed the change to create a middle ground between a verbal reprimand and ejection.
Adoption varies across major cities
Three of Bavaria's largest cities moved quickly. Munich, Regensburg and Ingolstadt amended their procedural rules after the municipal election to include the new fines, their administrations confirmed to the German Press Agency. No city with the rules in place has yet reported a case where a fine was actually imposed.
Augsburg took the opposite path. The city's main office stated the council "actively decided against" introducing fines for its members, seeing no current need to address aggressive or offensive behaviour with financial penalties.
Nuremberg's stalled attempt
Nuremberg tried to pass the new rules at its first council session in early May but failed to reach agreement on a broader revision of its procedural rules. A spokesman for the mayor's office said the fines themselves were not the sticking point, but without an updated rulebook the option remains unavailable. A fresh attempt to rewrite the rules, including the fine provisions, is planned.
Limited oversight and political pushback
Neither the Bavarian Association of Cities nor the Association of Municipalities could say how many smaller towns have adopted the fines. The state interior ministry, responsible for local government, also told dpa it has no overview.
In the state parliament, the AfD faction voted unanimously against the reform, calling it a "muzzle for volunteers." The party's sole member who has already been fined in the Landtag sits in that faction. By comparison, disruptive state MPs face fines of up to 4,000 euros for repeated offences.
