Overview

• The Bund der Steuerzahler published its 53rd Schwarzbuch, cataloging 100 examples it says show careless public spending across federal, state and municipal levels.
• In Hesse, the state chapter presented local cases in Wiesbaden and criticized the presence of 19 state commissioners, highlighting items such as a €4,500 dachshund coat, a €16,000 swing in Kassel, and a roughly €340,000 Frankfurt art-housing prototype.
• The compendium cites Pfungstadt’s sauna, which cost €6.1 million, operated for only about 18 months, then sat idle for years before being demolished, as the city plans a new pool complex with a separately budgeted sauna.
• For North Rhine-Westphalia, the list includes Cologne’s Thurner Hof, where more than €800,000 in renovations left a building lacking the permit for its intended use, and over €40 million invested at JVA Remscheid with future works still undecided.
• Monheim’s planned €50 million ‘Mack-Pyramide’ awarded without tender is criticized by the group, while the mayor defends the project on heritage and economic grounds; the watchdog also objects to splitting a state environment agency into two, citing 15 new posts and €1.4 million in added first‑year costs.