Michael Sagmeister, leader of the Bregenzer Pinken, calls for fundamental structural reforms of the city and the state. There is currently no sustainable financial planning.
The state capital is not exactly well supported financially; There has been a gap between income and expenditure for years. A budget for 2025 is also emerging where the end result will be a loss. For Michael Sagmeister of Neos, all alarm bells are already ringing: “The city is once again saving itself with reserves for next year, while almost ten million euros must be raised for the loans taken out alone.” The debt mountain will have grown to 270 million euros by 2029.
Reforms instead of lawnmowers
He has little confidence in the savings measures that the city has initiated: cutting across the board based on the lawn mower principle is far too short-sighted and ignores the core problems. Rather, it is important to initiate systemic reforms.
In this respect, he also sees a challenge for the state: “A significant part of the costs in the city’s estimate are passed on directly by the state.” Rescue, hospital and social funds in particular are cost drivers – also because the state has failed to initiate structural reforms in a timely manner. “If the Court of Audit shows clear savings potential in the rescue fund and these are ignored out of political convenience, don’t be surprised if costs spiral out of control,” Sagmeister complains.
Design advisory boards as cost drivers
He also sees the need for action when it comes to design advisory boards: “It now seems self-evident that a design advisory board will postpone projects for years and demand ridiculously expensive changes purely for aesthetic reasons.”
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.
