Wolfsberg: Fee adjustments as an investment in the future

Wolfsberg: Fee adjustments as an investment in the future

In Wolfsberg, significant increases in fees are imminent, and the announcement caused broad discussions at the last council meeting. Vice Mayor Alexander Radl from the SPÖ made clear: "Conditions, like in another city, where no water can be drunk out of the line for weeks, we must not exist." This round renewal of the fees for waste, water and cemeteries is necessary to ensure the security of supply of the municipal utilities in the future.

The last adjustment of the fees took place in 2019, and now an increase is necessary to renew a outdated fleet and to make other investments, such as those in the waste collection center. Karl-Heinz Smole, the chairman of the Stadtwerke advisory board, announced that the additional income is also used for the operation of around 80 garbage collectors. The calculations of the municipal utility result in a burden of around 7.25 euros per person and month to 2027 for an average family of three in a family home.

financing of infrastructure projects

The fee adjustments should be gradually taken from 2025, whereby the water prices will increase by EUR 2.18 and the waste fees by EUR 5.07 per month by 2027. Despite the arguments for the need for the increase, there was headwind from the political opposition. The FPÖ under City Councilor Isabella Theuermann rejected the plans and criticized the fact that funds from profitable areas of the municipal utilities are deducted to finance deficit companies. Their concerns in particular concerned the question of how the citizens could deal with these increases by 2027.

The municipal councilor Marion Schuhai from the ÖVP emphasized that the increase was an investment in the future that should benefit not only the current generation but also future generation. Their calculations showed that the price for a cubic meter of water will be 2.31 euros next year - a sum that would lead to much higher costs when buying in bottles.

The planned infrastructure projects include investments of around 25 million euros by 2033, whereby the focus is on the renewal of the Koral meadow, the construction of a filter system in Klippitz as well as measures for management and renovation.

A supplementary point is the increase in cemetery fees by up to 99 percent by 2027. These should serve to ensure the maintenance and the labor -intensive maintenance of four cemeteries. Theuermann commented critically about this increase and described it as a "typical SPÖ-ÖVP Christmas package".

The entire procedure for the fee adjustment was finally decided with the majority of the votes of SPÖ, ÖVP and the Greens, although the FPÖ decided against it. The municipal council meeting can be read in detail, is available under an online stream that is documented by the meeting: Wolfsberger Municipal council meeting .