The constitutionally guaranteed right to petition is implemented at municipal level by the North Rhine-Westphalian municipal code. This enables everyone to write to the council or district council with suggestions or complaints on matters relating to the respective municipalities. The City Council of Aachen has set up a committee, the Citizens' Forum, to deal with such citizens' petitions. It is made up of councillors delegated by the City Council of Aachen as well as citizens appointed by the Council. These members of the Citizens' Forum are entitled to vote on resolutions.
So if you would like the City of Aachen to take action in a certain direction, please submit a petition to the Citizens' Forum in accordance with Section 24 of the NRW Municipal Code.
After the relevant specialist administration has been involved, your citizens' application will be discussed publicly in the citizens' forum. You yourself will be invited to the meeting of the Citizens' Forum and will be given the opportunity to explain your application in more detail. You can present your request in the form of your choice, for example by means of a digital presentation or an oral presentation.
Following your explanations of the application, a lively discussion between citizens, politicians and the administration is desirable so that a genuine exchange of opinions can form the basis for the decision of the Citizens' Forum in addition to all technical opinions.
The Citizens' Forum has the opportunity to make a recommendation to the relevant specialist committees, district councils or the administration as part of a resolution. You will be informed of the Citizens' Forum's decision in writing after the meeting.
Another task of the Citizens' Forum is to provide information on new projects and plans for the city of Aachen in the areas of infrastructure, urban development, transport, the economy, social affairs, schools, children and young people. This also makes it possible to participate in the development of the city in dialog with elected representatives and representatives of the administration.
Question time for residents is also an integral part of the Citizens' Forum meetings. The Council and the district councils also hold question and answer sessions for residents.
The Citizens' Forum aims to encourage people in our city to participate in local self-government and not only enables a communicative exchange through its content-related structure, but also, where possible, meets in close proximity to those affected by the main point of discussion at the respective meeting.
If you have any questions about the Citizens' Forum and the participation opportunities offered by the City of Aachen, you are welcome to contact the Citizens' Forum office.