Four local authorities establish a joint local authority association
Caption: A powerful symbol of inter-municipal cooperation: the mayors of Burgwald, Hatzfeld, Battenberg and Allendorf received official approval for the new municipal administrative association from District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst and Sabine Saure (Local Government Supervisory Authority). Pictured (from left): Lothar Koch, Jürgen van der Horst, Dirk Junker, Carmen Möller, Christian Klein, Sabine Saure and Carsten Schäfer.
The municipality of Allendorf (Eder), the town of Battenberg (Eder), the municipality of Burgwald and the town of Hatzfeld (Eder) will be working even more closely together in future – as part of a new local authority association ‘Oberes Edertal – Burgwald’, which will come into effect on 1 January 2027. As part of his role as district administrator, Jürgen van der Horst granted approval for the project and expressed his support for this local authority collaboration.
From resolutions to approval
In the second quarter of this year, the municipalities of Allendorf (Eder), Battenberg (Eder), Burgwald and Hatzfeld (Eder) took a significant step towards inter-municipal cooperation: Their governing bodies resolved to establish the Upper Edertal – Burgwald Municipal Administration Association. District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst has now granted official approval for the association’s formation: “The towns and municipalities are taking another significant step here to jointly address the growing challenges and develop solutions. This is an exemplary approach, and we, as the supervisory authority, are therefore delighted to approve this project.”
Working together for the
region. To tackle challenges such as skills shortages, scarce resources and complex tasks collectively, this project has a clear objective: to safeguard local public services in the long term through cooperation within the administrative association. The four mayors summarise the benefits: “We are joining forces to create effective solutions. This boosts efficiency, enhances our appeal as employers and makes it easier to comply with legal requirements. Above all, however, this inter-municipal cooperation eases the burden on our residents and ensures the continued provision of our public services.”
Human Resources, Information Technology, Water Supply and Wastewater Disposal
The Oberes Edertal – Burgwald Association is taking over the responsibilities of the former Oberes Edertal Wastewater Association and will henceforth be responsible for the technical and commercial management of water supply and wastewater disposal. The water supply in Hatzfeld forms an exception. A key point of the agreement is that the assets and decisions regarding investments will remain entirely with the individual local authorities. Furthermore, through this cooperation, the municipalities of Allendorf (Eder), Battenberg (Eder), Burgwald and Hatzfeld (Eder) are setting innovative standards in the fields of information technology and human resources.
In the IT sector, centralised support for the day-to-day operation of electronic data processing, data storage and data security is being re-established. At the same time, key projects to implement the Online Access Act are being driven forward in order to further strengthen the digitalisation of specialist procedures and ensure cyber and IT security. In human resources, a joint payroll system for all civil servants and employees has been in place since 1 January 2026. This includes, amongst other things, payroll processing and social security declarations. The aim is to transfer this task to the joint association in future as well, thereby creating further synergies. Through these measures, the local authorities are strengthening their cooperation and creating sustainable structures for a modern and citizen-centred administration.
No merger, but greater autonomy
All four local authorities will remain entirely independent in these projects. Cooperation within the Association of Local Authorities is intended to help safeguard this autonomy in the long term. “Our towns and municipalities face similar challenges to those of the district as a whole. There is a shortage of skilled staff in the administrations; funds and resources are becoming scarcer, whilst at the same time legislation and technical requirements are becoming increasingly complex,” says District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst. “With the new municipal administrative association, the towns and parishes are responding precisely to this. The local authorities can carry out their tasks more efficiently, share costs fairly amongst themselves, pool their expertise and thus safeguard local public services in the long term. This is an important step towards maintaining the local authorities’ capacity to deliver services in the future as well.”
The State of Hesse provides funding for the‘
’Association of LocalAuthorities The association is based in Allendorf (Eder). Its members are the municipality of Allendorf (Eder), the town of Battenberg (Eder), the municipality of Burgwald and the town of Hatzfeld (Eder). The association is funded through contributions from the member local authorities – supplemented by grants from the State of Hesse: the State provides 150,000 euros per local authority to a local government association – money that helps the local authorities to put such measures into practice even in difficult times.
Background: To ensure that the objectives could actually be achieved, the project was preceded by a feasibility study in which all local authorities took part. The studies carried out by the Komprax Result consultancy, led by Carmen Möller from Burgwald, were characterised by a strong practical focus and a consistent emphasis on implementation. The focus is not on theoretical analysis, but on the development of concrete, politically viable and organisationally feasible cooperation models for local authorities. The studies were of central importance for implementation. The statutes of the Association of Local Authorities provide the legal basis for shared tasks and responsibilities. The association’s governing bodies – the Association Assembly and the Executive Board – ensure transparent decision-making processes and strengthen cooperation between the local authorities. Voting rights in the Association Assembly are based on the population of each municipality: Allendorf (Eder) has 5 votes, Battenberg (Eder) has 4 votes, Burgwald has 4 votes and Hatzfeld (Eder) has 2 votes.