Dispute over salary

Klagenfurt has to wait for a new mayor

Klagenfurt City Hall is still without a new boss.

(Bild: Rojsek-Wiedergut Uta)

Many topics in the upcoming municipal council in Klagenfurt: conference center, town hall fees and new head of the municipal council.

Klagenfurt's SP deputy mayor Philipp Liesnig returns from vacation today and immediately has a lot to do: His wish for a new municipal director will certainly not be granted at the municipal council meeting on Thursday. "The hearing commission is still meeting," says Mayor Christian Scheider (Team Kärnten). Nevertheless, the main topic will be the appointment of Jürgen Dumpelnik, which is to be pushed through with the votes of the SP, FP and Neos.

8,200 euros gross salary could be enough
Liesnig: "Scheider must table the motion for a head of the city council, otherwise the vacuum in the city will continue. There is no head. The delay with the indoor swimming pool alone has already cost one million euros," said Liesnig. "According to our calculations, Dumpelnik would earn 11,000 euros gross, department heads earn more in the town hall." But the salary could also be less. Dumpelnik therefore spoke to the FP. "I have never negotiated my salary with the people in charge. If it is ultimately only 8,200 euros gross, I would do it," says the SP's top candidate.

Finances are also an issue. "The city closed 2023 with a surplus of 17 million," says VP city councillor Max Habenicht. "It's high time to finally implement the city's participation in the new conference center for the Koralm Railway. Five million is needed. That can be spread over two years. We can definitely afford the conference center," says Habenicht. Trade fair president Harald Kogler has therefore been chasing the city for two years. "All trade fairs in Austria are subsidized operations, but in Klagenfurt they earn money. We urgently need the conference center and must agree to it," demands Habenicht.