Administration - Tourism association board defends boss's salary
The board of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Tourism Association defended the payment of their manager Tobias Woitendorf against criticism from the State Audit Office. "The salary group B5 is relevant for the payment of our manager, not group B2," explained the managing director in response to an inquiry from the German Press Agency. "The salary group B5 was part of the requested and approved economic plans of the TMV as well as the last state budgets passed by the state parliament."
The responsible Economics Ministry stated that the economic plan of the Tourism Association had been adjusted. "It no longer includes a B5 salary," a spokeswoman said. "This was first made transparent in the state budget 2022/23 and passed by the parliament."
Breach of the prohibition on betterment?
According to the table, the basic salary in group B5 amounts to 9674.22 Euro gross per month, while in group B2 it is approximately 1500 Euro less. In its annual report 2024, the State Audit Office noted: "According to the economic plan 2019, the manager could have received an out-of-tariff bonus, comparable to the salary group B2." However, the board of the Association reportedly agreed on a gross salary with Woitendorf in 2019 that was roughly equivalent to group B5.
The State Audit Office criticized that this allegedly violated the so-called prohibition on betterment. According to this regulation, a recipient of subsidies like the Tourism Association may not better compensate their employees than comparable civil servants.
Contract details to be adjusted
Furthermore, the managing director of the Tourism Association stated that details of the contract with Woitendorf should be adjusted in accordance with the recommendations of the State Audit Office. What exactly this means remained unclear. The supreme auditing authority of the state had criticized that the manager and his wife were allowed to use the company car privately and that he could receive gratifications, bonuses, and special payments. Among the members of the managing board of the Tourism Association MV, according to the information provided, are State President Birgit Hesse (President) and CDU state parliamentarian Wolfgang Waldmüller.
Furthermore, the Tourism Association announced that managers of state-owned companies, such as Invest in MV or Verkehrsgesellschaft MV, were also paid comparably to group B5. The Tourism Association has more employees than these companies.
- The German Press Agency reported that the German government, through the BMWi (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action), has expressed its concern over the salary payments of associations in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, citing the case of the Tourism Association and their manager Tobias Woitendorf.
- The Tourism association's president, State President Birgit Hesse, along with other association members, defended the payment decisions, stating that they comply with the approved economic plans and state budgets, which include the B5 salary group for the manager's position.
- Representatives from various associations, including the Tourism association of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, have met with the state finance ministry to discuss the issue of salary group classification and the associated finances.
- The tourism association's financial situation has come under scrutiny due to the controversy over the manager's salary, leading some members of the German Press Agency and local associations to call for more transparency and accountability in the association's finances, particularly in relation to the use of company cars and special payments to its employees.
