Bestensee before a decision: Treasurer Ludwig criticized for forging documents!

Bestensee before a decision: Treasurer Ludwig criticized for forging documents!

There is an important decision in Bestensee: Today, July 16, 2025, the municipal council will vote in an unscheduled meeting on whether treasurer Heimo Ludwig will be recalled. The Cottbus district court recently passed a judgment against him, but it is not yet legally binding. Mayor Roland Holm submitted the recall proposal in order to preserve the integrity and trust in the city hall, he said [maz-online.de].

What exactly is it about? Heimo Ludwig was convicted of forgery of documents in a particularly serious case. These offenses occurred between 2017 and 2019, when Ludwig directed payments to a non-existent company. The court imposed a prison sentence of nine months, which was suspended for two years. He also has to pay 6,000 euros to the state treasury. Ludwig has already filed an appeal, as derneuekaemmerer.de reports.

Reactions from the local council

The decision to dismiss Ludwig caused different reactions among the members of the municipal council. Jürgen Ostländer from the Plan Bestensee/CDU faction speaks out and expresses doubts about Ludwig's suitability. He expects to be recalled, while Annette Lehmann from the Independent Citizens is in favor of Ludwig staying and overall sees him as a capable chamberlain. Oliver Calov, parliamentary group leader of the AfD, is critical of the measure since there is no legally binding judgment and suggests that Ludwig's duties should be suspended for the time being.

The WIR group, on the other hand, has already announced that it will vote for dismissal in order to enable a new start. The vote will be crucial because if the majority votes for the recall, Mayor Holm will be faced with the challenge of quickly finding a new treasurer. Budget planning will begin in a few weeks, and the item is essential for the municipality's budget management, investments and asset management.

Similar cases and legal framework

The situation surrounding Heimo Ludwig is reminiscent of other recent cases from Germany in which chamberlains were convicted of breach of trust and other crimes. For example, a treasurer in a Bavarian market town was sentenced to three years in prison for breach of trust in several cases, while the proper management of the municipal budget was also at issue there. These judgments illustrate how important transparency and integrity are in local politics, and what legal consequences there are if these are violated, as rws-verlag.de reports.

The coming hours and days are crucial for Bestensee, while the local council decides on the future of Heimo Ludwig and thus on trust in the local administration. Citizens can be curious to see how this situation will develop. A good treasurer must not only keep an eye on the numbers, but also maintain the trust of the citizens.