Amstetten relies on sustainable finances: a balanced budget 2025

Amstetten relies on sustainable finances: a balanced budget 2025

Amstetten presented enormous progress in budget planning for 2025 in the recent press conference. Mayor Christian Haberhauer made it clear that the city is on the right track to create a balanced budget that includes investments and savings. "We made clever decisions and established strong partnerships to gain financial scope," he said. In this context, he emphasized the advantages through the outsourcing of the municipal utilities and the centralized city maintenance. These measures lead to advantages in the millions for Amstetten.

A central topic in budget planning is kindergarten offensive. Despite falling income shares and increasing expenses in social areas, the mayor will continue the projects in this area. The construction or new construction of the Preinbacherstrasse elementary school and other important social institutions are to be realized. According to Haberhauer, there are also reserves of 30 to 40 million euros that serve as a financial buffer. This could help the city to acquire additional funding and to keep the debt of approx. 80 million euros stable.

challenges and sustainable solutions

Mayor Dominic Hörlezeder announced by the Greens that the creation of the 2025 budget was a "Hercules task". He emphasizes that, despite the economic challenges, Amstetten also focused on sustainability and climate protection. Projects for promoting photovoltaics and renaturation are to be continued. "We take important steps to become climate -neutral by 2040," he added.

In the social area, the city will continue to provide targeted support despite the financial bottlenecks. For example, the heating allowance is raised from 137 euros to 140 euros. The previous inflation compensation, which was 100 euros, is no longer paid out due to the current inflation situation, which the city viewed as a temporary auxiliary mechanism for socially weaker

The assessment of Peter Biwald, the managing director of the KDZ, who also took part in the press conference, is consistently positive. He praises that Amstetten has achieved a "nice success" with a balanced budget, especially in view of the fact that many municipalities are under pressure due to falling earnings and increasing expenses. Biwald suggests that adapting the levies for the municipalities are necessary to relieve them financially and to be able to react to changed developments.

The SPÖ has also expressed its concerns about the financial situation and suggests that a cashnote break for 2024. Vice Mayor Gerhard Riegler demands transparency about the financial circumstances in order to obtain a more precise assessment of the situation. "It is not enough to just say that everything is okay while we move to a choice," he criticized. At the same time, he warned of risks when the city overused its financial resources and invested in large projects.

Despite these challenges, Mayor Haberhauer assured the citizens that the budget would be realistic and controlled by the community supervision. "It is absurd to think that we can disguise the financial situation. The budget must be feasible, and I only sign realistic plans," he emphasized.

An upcoming measure is the conversion of Rathausstraße, which is planned for 2025. With an estimated cost of around 500,000 euros, this expansion will take place in summer to relieve the traffic situation. "With this investment, private companies have also decided to invest more in the location," added Haberhauer.

For detailed information on the current developments in Amstetten and the balanced budget for 2025, See the report on www.noen.at .