Lower Austria remains with 573 municipalities: Political dispute goes on!

Lower Austria remains with 573 municipalities: Political dispute goes on!

Lower Austria remains the largest state in Austria. Despite the savings pressure and tense budget, there will be no further community merging, as reported Oe24 . The political landscape is split on this question: ÖVP and FPÖ reject mergers, while the SPÖ sees no need for them. The Greens, on the other hand, demand incentives to work, and the NEOS are committed to reforms with citizen participation.

Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP) emphasizes that there were already community mergers in Lower Austria in the 1970s. The current state shows that the average municipal size in the state is in midfield compared to other Austrian countries. At the same time, Lower Austria has the lowest administrative costs per inhabitant in the federal state comparison.

political reactions and points of view

The importance of the communities for the identity of the citizens is emphasized by Mikl-Leitner as well as the abolition of involuntary mergers. Udo Landbauer from the FPÖ sees the smallest communities as significant, citizenship institutions and demands that civil requests are taken into account in the event of possible mergers. Landbauer also argues that the costs of the municipal councils only make up a small part of the budgets and are not in relation to the necessary means for nursing staff and kindergarten supervisors.

The SPÖ considers the municipalities as an immobile part of the state identity and calls for a dialogue to solve the financial problems of the municipalities. Helga Krismer from the Greens sees a need for incentives and consultations to support the communities in these tense times. The NEOs are calling for a transparent reform of the municipal code to enable costs and actively integrate citizens into the reform process.

background and current developments

In the further context, an investigation of Community Association that the municipal mergers do not always have positive effects. An analysis showed that in 91% of the merged communities the administrative costs per capita rose according to the reform. It was also found that the majority of the mergers were not voluntary. There were also reports of voting losses due to mergers.

In Upper Austria, the efforts to merge small communities have now stopped, since they are relying on voluntariness and cooperation. Hans Weamer, the President of the Upper Austrian Association, confirmed the still existing resistance to mergers, especially in small communities. Nevertheless, there are calls for mergers, with the argument of cost efficiency in the background.

The financial framework for municipal finance has also been restructured to ensure better predictability and reduce the dependency on state funds. Therefore, it remains to be seen how the situation will develop in the coming years, especially with regard to citizen participation and the dialogue between the political parties.