Local services
The General Assembly of the Municipality of Debrecen met on the 19th of September, ending the five-year term of the City Council of Debrecen, active between 2019 and 2024.
On this occasion, Mayor László Papp thanked the Assembly members for their work on behalf of the City of Debrecen and its citizens.
The Mayor said that they have had a challenging five years. He has had the opportunity to participate in various positions in the Debrecen municipality since 1998, and the last five years have been the most challenging in all aspects.
“We have nothing to be ashamed of;, despite all the difficulties, the city has made progress in many respects over the last five years,” he pointed out.
László Papp recalled that the Assembly of the current term was formed in October 2019, and a few months later, in March 2020, they faced an unknown challenge (COVID-19). Thanks and gratitude go to the citizens of Debrecen for the strong support they have provided in this challenging period, even in particular situations, by establishing the Municipal Emergency Fund. The local government was able to keep the city, transport and public services running. It has not dismissed anyone because of the epidemic; it has kept jobs, trusting that the epidemic will pass and life will return to normal. The city has also tried to help business organisations and small and medium-sized enterprises by waiving a significant proportion – 50 per cent – of the municipal taxes that remain in the local economy. The city has also made significant improvements. In the field of culture, there have been symbolic developments, with the renovation of the Csokonai National Theatre building being one of the extraordinary achievements of the cycle.
As László Papp pointed out, it was a great feeling to listen to Tim Robbins, the Oscar-winning American actor who recently visited Debrecen with his company and who spoke highly of the renovation of the historic Csokonai theatre building and all the elements he saw. The Mayor also underlined that a new cultural entity had been created, as the Csokonai Fórum had become part of the city’s cultural life. In addition, economic development has continued, with thousands of new jobs created in the last period and massive progress in transport and education.
László Papp believes that the last five years have been outstanding in all respects – excellent and bad. It has been a very complex period, a period of great responsibility. Suppose the history of Debrecen at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries is examined from a historical perspective. In that case, the five years between 2019 and 2024 – outstanding in every respect – deserve a particular chapter.
As the mayor noted, the last five years have been the most instructive period of his political career. It was unusual that, during the coronavirus epidemic, the assembly could not meet, and he had to make decisions in one person instead of the assembly. He did not like the feeling of being alone. Politics is about coming together, being together, speaking your mind, trying to convince each other when you disagree, and thus moving the city forward, he said.
“This work cannot be done without diligence, perseverance, patience and humility, and we must accept criticism and praise when we get it. These five years have taught the members of the Assembly how to work together and improve the city that we all love and serve through our work,” he pointed out.
The mayor said he was proud of his achievements over the past five years. He thanked the Mayor’s office staff and the residents. He said that these five years have perhaps been fundamentally about more than politics, about how we can think ahead in a difficult situation and move the city forward.
He stressed that, despite all the difficulties, the assembly had not had to give up on essential developments for the residents and that the city had been able to use the priority development funds for 2023 and 2024 after the epidemic period had passed.
He wished those who would continue to serve as members of the Assembly every success for the next five years, and to those who would now finish their term of office, he wished them to be proud of having been members of the Assembly of Debrecen, the second largest and perhaps most successful city in the country. All members of the Assembly have contributed a great deal to the overall performance of the city.
The mayor then thanked each of the members of the Assembly present.
Source: debrecen.hu
