"OB on site" in the Kaiserlei, Hafen, Nordend and Westend districts

Mayor Schwenke then explained the main strategic lines of the city's policy, from economic policy to education and housing to inner city development. Offenbach has less trade tax revenue than other municipalities. This was due to the high loss of jobs in the 1990s. 80 percent of industrial jobs in Offenbach were lost at that time. "When you hear this dimension, 80 percent lost, then it also becomes clear why the fight for economic recovery in our city is so difficult - and therefore takes a long time," said Mayor Schwenke, explaining that he is pursuing a clear strategy for economic development. This is already showing concrete successes: Offenbach am Main is developing positively as a business location, contrary to the national trend. With 53,710 jobs in mid-2025, there were more jobs in the city than there have been for 51 years, while Offenbach also achieved a new record in trade tax revenue of 135 million euros. At the same time, the continued low employment density of 36.9 percent - well below the level of 50 years ago when it was 45 percent - makes it clear that despite this positive development, much remains to be done to strengthen the city's economic base in the long term.

The positive trend is also evident in the city's districts: The recycling company Blasius Schuster, the recruiting company TOPEOPLE and TMS Trademarketing Service now have their headquarters in the port and the IT security company Pan Dacom will be building its headquarters there. The IT service company of the German health insurance funds ITSG and Lorenz Snacks have moved into Kaiserlei.

In the new Offenbach Innovation Campus in the east of the city, the valve manufacturer Samson is building one of the largest industrial production facilities in Germany with 2,000 jobs and the biotech company BioSpring is building what is currently the largest production facility for oligonucleotides in the world with around 1,500 jobs.

Despite the positive development, the city is still dependent on the state's municipal financial equalization scheme, but is working consistently to generate more income from trade tax.

The mayor also addressed the city's expenditure: most of the investments were made in education, for example in the renovation of daycare centers and school buildings. "And education is also the reason why we bought the former Kaufhof", emphasized Schwenke. After the refurbishment, the city library is to move in there, which will then be able to offer more quiet workspaces with fast internet access for children living in cramped conditions.

Other key topics of city policy include the development of the city center, for which there is a future concept for the city center, affordable housing, safety and cleanliness.

The question and answer session for citizens dealt with a number of issues concerning the public order office. An elderly man complained about cars parking on the sidewalk in Rödernstraße so that neither a person with a walking frame nor a baby carriage could get past. The public order office will initiate checks here. The same applies to the playground at Goetheschule, which is also used after opening hours, as the parish priest of St. Peter's reported. The mayor explained that the city police are now available around the clock. Citizens can report problematic locations so that the city can arrange checks there. This was immediately done by a woman who stated that music was still being played at night on the harbor steps.

Another case for the public order office is the 30 km/h zone on Schillerplatz in the direction of Dreieichpark, where one man said that people were driving too fast. The mayor announced that he would have a side radar installed there.

One man praised the fact that a lot of good things had already happened in the district, but that one thing was still unchanged: the footpath in the Goethering/Bettinastraße area had still not been paved. Ron Reck, the new head of the Office for Planning and Construction, explained that there had been a public consultation on the Goethering. The planning services will be awarded in 2026 following the decision in principle at the next municipal council meeting and the construction work will be carried out the following year. With regard to the public participation on the Goethering, there was a question as to whether the streetcar should run along the August-Bebel-Ring. According to Reck, there is a feasibility study on the streetcar, which has examined how it could run. One preferred corridor is the August-Bebel-Ring and the Goethering.

One man asked whether the prices for the Messe parking garage could be made resident-friendly. The mayor pointed out that the parking garage belonged to the trade fair company. Although the city is a shareholder, it does not own the majority. The parking garage is well utilized during the week, so there is no pressure to change anything. There had also been attempts to open it up to residents, which had led to complaints because it had become increasingly littered.

A young man asked whether the park on the harbor island would only be developed once all the commercial areas had been built on. Božica Niermann, Head of Economic Development and authorized signatory of Mainviertel Offenbach GmbH & Co KG, said that the tip of the island would in fact initially be used as a construction site. However, as the development will not take place in the near future, it is now being examined whether the park can be implemented independently of the construction projects.

The greening was also the subject of a woman who enquired about the replanting on the Maindamm. The mayor explained that there were no trees on most dams and dykes because they would endanger their stability. Most of the trees felled on Offenbach's Maindamm could not have survived for more than ten years. After the reinforcement of the Maindamm, more trees would be planted than were there before.

A young woman wanted to know whether the city had any ideas for designing public spaces. For example, with flower boxes and seating. Marcus Schenk, the district manager responsible for Nordend, explained that there was already a mini-park in Ludwigstraße and that Johannes-Morhart-Straße was to be permanently closed to traffic in order to create recreational opportunities for families. However, it was important to create acceptance for such projects, as this would also eliminate parking spaces. The neighborhood management team is happy to accept ideas from the local population. Reck added that the development of Goethering and Schillerplatz is also about creating additional open spaces for residents. The mayor reported that there are still two plots of land for commercial development in Kaiserlei next to the SG Wiking rowing and boating club site. One condition for the building rights is that a large park must also be created. The area may only be used for construction site facilities until 2030.

A woman drew attention to a sidewalk damaged by trees in Berliner Straße. She was advised to report such damage via the Offenbach defect reporter. However, there was no really good solution that would also preserve the trees. The traffic safety obligation is no longer fulfilled if a tripping hazard of more than two centimetres in height forms.

Another woman said that cities in Italy are cleaner because the litter bins there are larger and have smaller slots. Christian Loose from Stadtservice replied that the size and shape wouldn't help if people didn't want to use them. He pointed out that overfilled litter garbage cans can also be reported via the defect detector.

One man reported that the signage on a footpath opposite the harbor island was missing following construction work, meaning that it was now also being used by cyclists. This and the suggestion to improve the lighting under the Walter Spiller Bridge are being looked into by the city.