Linz plans strict austerity: 8 million euros should be saved!

Linz plans strict austerity: 8 million euros should be saved!

Linz, Österreich - The city of Linz is facing a financial turn. A detailed analysis of the budget situation shows that the municipal council will decide on a double budget for the years 2026 and 2027 in December 2025. Mayor Dietmar Prammer (SP) announces a clear austerity course, which should start with preparatory work in the administration. The aim is to save 15 percent in the discretion expenditure across all departments. In the best case, these measures should enable savings of around eight million euros, which would mean a significant relief for the urban budget. In addition to Linz, the federal and state levels are also confronted with a savings package that provides for such a thing, whereby ** [Nachrichten.at] ** reports that the state of Upper Austria wants to save 15 percent with the discretion spending and 5 percent in mandatory expenses.

The challenges are not of bad parents. High transfer payments to the country that make up over 100 million euros for hospitals represent a significant part of the budget. The pressure on the cash registers is increased by falling income from the federal government and local tax as well as increasing personnel and transfer expenditure. In this context, Governor Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP) also brings a budget decree to the discussion, which provides for savings of almost 70 million euros, although important areas such as social and youth welfare are excluded from these cuts. ** [tips.at] ** emphasizes that the responsible handling of taxpayers is now more in demand.

reactions from politics

The political landscape reacts differently to the upcoming austerity measures. It is clear that the ÖVP calls for a cash fall in order to better understand the actual financial situation. Vice mayor Martin Hajart emphasizes the importance of investments in the economy and wants to get a renovation and investment plan for urban real estate rolling. FPÖ City Councilor Michael Raml, on the other hand, warns of nonsensical flat-rate cuts and demands prioritization of expenses. Especially in the areas of safety and health, it should not be shortened, even if you have to look for opportunities for increasing efficiency. The Greens see a “clear cut” in the scheduled austerity course and exhortate with sensible focus on the focus, especially in the areas of violence prevention and social support.

The entire financial situation in the cities and municipalities is serious. Experts warn of an expected deficit of over 13 billion euros in 2024 - and this development does not look like improvement. The municipalities, which in the past often considered healthy people in the line -up, must now delete sensible voluntary expenditure in order to ensure the legal framework. ** [staedtetag.de] ** explains that no new state services or tax cuts are possible if other services are not restricted at the same time. This structural crisis requires courage to make structural changes so that the cities can also participate in sales tax volume better.

The way forward

The path is clear: priorities must be set and savings must be implemented intelligently so that the cities and municipalities not only survive, but also remain capable of action. Politics faces the challenge of making well -founded decisions without depriving the citizens of their most important needs. A good mix of savings and investments could be the key to secure a stable financial situation over the coming years. But it is up to the decision -makers to navigate clever so that Linz and its inhabitants are not left behind in the fog of financial uncertainty.