The city of Salzburg expects a total budget of 620 million euros for the year 2022. The People’s Party and Social Democrats are satisfied. Both the Citizens List and the Freedom Party voted against the draft. Neos and communists have also announced that they will vote against it in the local council.
“We are investing, but we have to put on the brakes in certain areas in order to be able to finance important projects in the transport, culture and school sectors in the next few years,” says Mayor Harald Preuner of the draft budget. This is still strongly influenced by the crisis and the budget for 2021 has not yet been balanced. According to Preuner, eleven to twelve million euros have to be released from reserves. Hardly any party is really satisfied with the draft budget. Because the citizens’ list as well as the FPÖ voted against in the Senate. KPÖ and Neos – they are not represented in the Senate – will not vote in the municipal council. Last year the FPÖ was still part of the budget. Not this year, although she got her call for a higher heating cost subsidy (plus 30 to 180 euros) and a graduation bonus for masters. The blues come up against various fee increases. Incidentally, the KPÖ recorded the heating cost subsidy as its success because it had already requested it. Otherwise? “There are no measures to get the housing crisis under control. Millions are flowing into prestige projects such as the expansion of the Festspielhaus, but the population is saving when it comes to housing, ”criticizes Kay-Michael Dankl. The Social Democrats are satisfied. There was no nasty surprise in the departments of Vice Mayor Bernhard Auinger and City Councilor Anja Hagenauer. The majority has already been clarified in advance. Still, it was tough negotiations. “It is all the more gratifying for us that the 2022 budget bears a clear social-democratic signature,” said Auinger with satisfaction. Worth mentioning: the culture funding budget has increased by one million euros. For digitization in schools, 50,000 euros were made easy, as was the case with pigeon management.
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