Discharge of the citizens' offices: Berlin is planning days -free days for more flexibility

Discharge of the citizens' offices: Berlin is planning days -free days for more flexibility
The weekly experiment: Berlin citizens' offices are testing a new appointment system
In order to solve the problems of making appointments in the citizens' offices in Berlin, the Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) plans a return to an earlier practice. Wegner wants to test appointment -free offers to offer Berliners more flexibility. The idea is to introduce a certain weekday - possibly on Wednesdays, on which the citizens' offices can be attended without prior appointment booking. This step should lead to relief and shorten the waiting times.
The project is currently being discussed with the districts, the Senate Chancellery and the administrative reform state secretary Martina Klement. Some districts are open to the abolition of the duty of appointment since 2012, while others have concerns that the citizens' offices could be overrun by a large number of people again, similar to during the refugee crisis in 2015. At that time, the employees were overloaded and were looking for more employment within the administration.
Before the experiment is expected to begin in the third quarter, some organizational questions still have to be clarified. Among other things, it is about the introduction of waiting brands and possibly also a security service. In the long term, Wegner and Klement strive for a mixed system in which both assigned appointments and spontaneous appearance are possible.