Economy on the abyss: municipalities in need before the election in Lower Austria!

Economy on the abyss: municipalities in need before the election in Lower Austria!

Ybbs, Österreich - Lower Austria is about to the municipal council election on January 26th in 568 municipalities. Almost two weeks before this important event, the Association of Social Democratic Communities in Lower Austria (Lower Austria GVV) used its New Year's reception in order to point out the urgent financial problems of the communities. Over 500 mandatars gathered in the town hall of Ybbs, including Spö federal party leader Andreas Babler and state party chairman Sven Hergovich. In his speech, Lower Austria GVV President Andreas Kollross expressed the intention of taking responsibility in more communities and using the local elections as an opportunity to increase the number of SPÖ mayors. He emphasized the need for an additional 1.5 billion euros for the municipalities to free them from their financial emergency, as

The challenges of finance

The financial situation of the communities is dramatic. Andreas Kollross, who has only been in office for 100 days, explained that falling tax revenue and increasing expenses are the municipalities with his back to the wall. In particular, the municipalities put a lot of strain on the commitments to co-financing child and youth welfare and the preservation of hospitals. The earnings shares, which make up 11.82 percent of total tax revenue, do not lead to the municipalities can be sufficiently financed. This increasingly restricted the scope for investments and projects, which has a negative impact on the local economy, according to the report by With the upcoming election, the SPÖ community representative association focuses on an honest debate about community financing. The aim is to increase the shares in financial equalization and to distribute responsibility for social services more clearly. Kollross emphasizes that strengthening community autonomy is also protecting the democratic foundations in Austria. In view of the difficulties with which many communities are fighting, the coming weeks are crucial to set the course for a sustainable financial policy and to strengthen the trust of citizens in politics.