The financial rescue of the municipality of Matrei in Osttirol, which is fighting against the threat of bankruptcy due to a debt of more than 35 million euros, is taking shape. The state said Wednesday that renovations were “on track.” All supplier creditors agreed to the repayment plan.
The mountain of debt in the East Tyrolean municipality of Matrei has dominated Tyrolean state politics for months. The community of 4,700 inhabitants has accumulated about 35 million euros in misery in recent decades. The new ÖVP-SPÖ government and taxpayers now have to spoon out the soup.
Even the last creditors now agreed
The country reported on Wednesday that all supplier creditors have now approved the repayment plan. Finally, the signatures of five creditors were still open. “In Matrei in Osttirol, at the beginning of the period, we found a municipality that was going astray financially and we started debt relief together with the mayor and the city council,” recalls Governor Anton Mattle (ÖVP).
With creditors’ approval, “the efforts of the mayor, the city council and the state of Tyrol would now bear fruit,” Mattle continued. The restructuring of the municipal finances is therefore further on schedule.
Parliament discusses restructuring law
The Tyrolean state parliament will consider a law on Wednesday authorizing the state government to grant the East Tyrolean market town “certain payment facilities to restore budget balance”.
“In this way, the state of Tyrol is actively involved in reducing the debt of the market community and enabling the debt to be repaid at 100 percent,” says Mattle. Small creditors would be served immediately, while repayment plans had been agreed for larger creditors.
The last step in completing the full repayment plan is an agreement with the credit institutions. There are positive signals from the banks here. Mattle expects to close on this shortly.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
