Karlsruhe speaks clearly: Stadtwerke boss Heidt loses his last appeal!

Karlsruhe speaks clearly: Stadtwerke boss Heidt loses his last appeal!

The Pforzheim public utilities have repeatedly made the headlines in recent years, and now for good: The current case involving former managing director Roger Heidt has reached another brilliant conclusion. The Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court has legally confirmed Heidt's dismissal without notice in 2019. The court saw no other options than to confirm the regional court's decision and dismissed the appeal.

The drama surrounding Heidt's dismissal began in 2018 when a department head raised the alarm about a dramatic drop in profits from 10 million euros to just 1 million euros. However, Heidt and his co-managing director were not informed, which ultimately led to their dismissal. Udo Burgermeister, the presiding judge, made it clear that managing directors have a duty to inform the supervisory board of such developments. The withdrawal of Heidt's lawyer Andreas Pentz after seven years of litigation shows that economic pressure apparently limited the former boss's options.

Legal disputes and new challenges

But that's not all. Heidt was not the only managing director of Stadtwerke Pforzheim who ended up in court. Herbert Marquard, another former managing director, is also facing compliance allegations and an ongoing investigation Pforzheim newspaper reported. Marquard was also fired in January 2019 and has so far fought against his dismissal. The failed legal dispute is causing further uncertainty in the municipal utilities.

A look at the clarification of the allegations makes it clear that this is about more than just dismissals. Since 2023, the public prosecutor's office has been investigating the former head of the municipal utilities for breach of trust, as he allegedly did not obtain alternative offers for the construction of lighting on the chimney of the thermal power plant. This decision resulted in unnecessarily high costs and the lighting can only be used to a limited extent due to legal regulations, which puts the municipal utilities in a difficult position. In addition, an authorized representative of the contracted company is also being investigated, while the investigators searched the municipal utility's business premises and the documents they were looking for were voluntarily provided. As the SWR Current reported that the inspection work is still ongoing.

Trust and claims for damages

Another point that contributes to the worrying situation of Stadtwerke Pforzheim is the waiver of claims for damages. Despite the allegations, no initiative was taken by the management at the time to assert claims. At the end of July 2023, the supervisory board also decided not to discharge the management for 2024, which further exacerbated tensions within the municipal utilities. Such developments give the employees and citizens of Pforzheim hope that the situation will be clarified.

In these turbulent times, it remains to be seen how municipal utilities can free themselves from this difficult situation in the future in order to regain the trust of citizens and guarantee operational stability.