Ludwig: Historical reform partnership for cities and municipalities!

Ludwig: Historical reform partnership for cities and municipalities!

Palais Niederösterreich, 1010 Wien, Österreich - On June 6, 2025, a reform partnership between the federal, state, cities and municipalities was signed with great approval. Confederation President Michael Ludwig said positively about this important event, which took place at the Governor's Conference. Ludwig points out the urgent need to create incentives in the regional economy and emphasizes that austerity measures are not allowed to endanger the economy. According to Ludwig, the need for reform in the stability pact and in financial equalization is particularly evident due to the increased tasks of the cities and municipalities.

In the course of the 74th Austrian city day, cross -party and unanimous demands were decided. These include essential topics such as:

• Reform of the levies in the social and health area
• evaluation of the vertical distribution in financial equalization
• Reform of property tax
• No additional loads for cities and municipalities

challenges of digitization

Ludwig continues to emphasize the central role of digitization, especially with regard to the simplification of infrastructural projects and the prevention in the health sector. The successfully designed transformation process in the administration represents one of the greatest challenges. The Austrian administration has grown historically and heterogeneously at different levels, which requires adaptable solutions to meet the expectations of citizens, the economy and the public staff, reports Kommunal.at .

As part of the “Digital Office” project, a cross -administrative maker is pursued. A first dialogue for digitization between the federal government, the states and the municipalities took place in the Palais Lower Austria in Vienna. The aim of this dialogue is to develop, test and use electronic administrative processes. Federal Minister of Digitization and business location, Sebastian Kurz, and Minister Margarete Schramböck, underline the need to standardize different regulations in order to increase the efficiency and proximity of the administration.

collaboration and innovation

The Austrian Association of Cities, a constitutional advocacy for cities and larger municipalities in Austria with 261 member communities, recognizes the importance of cooperation with the municipal level. This also becomes clear as part of the Innovator Club (IC), which was founded in 2004 by the German Association of Cities and Municipalities. The Innovators Club deals with strategic future topics such as digitization, education and climate protection. The aim of the club is to show innovative ways for municipal cooperation, as can be experienced on dStgb.de

The joint effort of all those involved in the reform and digitization of the administration is considered historically significant and could make a decisive contribution to the future further development of cities and municipalities in Austria. Ludwig thanks the hosts and participants of the Government Conference for their contribution to this directional initiative.