Who Governs Your Town? Magistrat and City Council Assembly

  • Who governs your town? There are two bodies.
  • Property tax, daycare fees, new building areas. "The town" does not decide this. Two bodies decide this.
  • The city council assembly. You elect it every 5 years, most recently on 15 March 2026. It is the highest body of the town.
  • It makes the important decisions: budget, statutes, development plans. And it supervises the administration. Its meetings are public. But who puts this into effect?
  • The Magistrat. Mayor, First City Councillor and 6 volunteer city councillors. Elected by the city council assembly.
  • The Magistrat puts it into effect. It runs the day-to-day administration. It prepares decisions and puts them into effect. It decides as a collegial body. Its meetings are not public.
  • In short: the city council assembly decides, like a parliament. The Magistrat executes, like a government. Nobody sits in both.
  • Who writes here? One of the 6 volunteer city councillors in Rodgau. For Volt. Photo of Sascha Andres in a white shirt.
  • Did you know the difference? Answer in the comments. Share the post with someone from your town.
The carousel on Instagram (German)

Many people say: “The town decided that.” But who is “the town”? In Hesse there are two bodies with different tasks: the city council assembly (Stadtverordnetenversammlung) and the executive board (Magistrat). If you know the difference, you know where you can have a say.

The city council assembly: the parliament of the town

You elect the city council assembly directly, every five years. The last local elections in Rodgau were on 15 March 2026.

The city council assembly is the highest body of the town. It makes the important decisions:

  • Budget: How much money does the town spend, and on what?
  • Statutes: These are the rules of the town, for example for fees or tax rates such as the property tax.
  • Development plans: What can be built where?

It also supervises the administration. Its meetings are public. So you can listen when your town decides about your money.

The Magistrat: the government of the town

The Magistrat runs the day-to-day administration. It prepares the decisions of the city council assembly and puts them into effect.

In Rodgau the Magistrat consists of the mayor, the full-time First City Councillor and 6 volunteer city councillors. This is what the main statute of the town says (§ 3). The citizens elect the mayor directly. The city council assembly elects the city councillors.

The Magistrat decides as a collegial body, that is together and by majority. Its meetings are not public.

In short

City council assembly Magistrat
Role decides, like a parliament executes, like a government
Elected by you, every 5 years the city council assembly (mayor: directly by you)
Tasks budget, statutes, development plans, supervision day-to-day administration, prepare and execute decisions
Meetings public not public

And: nobody sits in both bodies. A person elected to the Magistrat cannot be a member of the city council assembly at the same time.

Who writes here?

I am one of the 6 volunteer city councillors in Rodgau, for Volt. Here I explain how your town works, factually and without internal matters. What exactly I do as a city councillor, you can read in the article “Volunteer City Councillor: What Do I Actually Do?”.

Your opinion

Did you know the difference? Write it in the comments under the Instagram post. And share the post with someone from your town.

Sources