Financial imbalance

State of Salzburg has to help out six municipalities

Last year, Rauris suffered major damage to its infrastructure during a storm.

(Bild: Roland Hoelzl)

Falling income, rising expenditure and storm damage: this year, small towns in Salzburg are in dire financial straits. What is being done about it.

Six Salzburg municipalities are unable to achieve a balanced budget this year. That is slightly more than in previous years. Since 2021, the state has had to support three to five municipalities each year with equalization payments.

Falling municipal income on the one hand and rising social, personnel and infrastructure costs on the other are tearing large financial holes in more and more municipalities.

State contributes twice as much as before
In Salzburg, Ebenau, Hüttschlag, Rauris, Stuhlfelden, St. Andrä and Thomatal were recently recognized as equalization municipalities. They are expected to receive a total of two million euros - the previous maximum was one million euros.

Rauris was hit hard by the storm disaster in August last year. After heavy rainfall, the Rauriser Ache simply tore away hundreds of meters of road. "We are receiving a first tranche of 470,000 euros. The majority of this will go towards restoring the damaged infrastructure," reports SPÖ Mayor Peter Loitfellner.

We are using the money to renovate our sewer system. You have to invest in it, otherwise it could collapse.

Heinrich Perner, Bürgermeister von St. Andrä im Lungau

Bild: Holitzky Roland

"Companies settle in larger municipalities than ours and pay taxes there," says ÖVP mayor Heinrich Perner about St. Andrä (200,000 euros grant). Land transfer tax has recently fallen sharply because hardly any construction is taking place. At the same time, social spending is rising. "The state is trying very hard," says Perner about the grant. St. Andrä is using it to renovate its sewer system and roads. Otherwise the system would "collapse". The situation is similar in Ebenau (670,000 euros). Few inhabitants need a large infrastructure here. In addition, there is an investment backlog that is still costing the town a lot of money.

With six equalization municipalities out of 119 municipalities, Salzburg is still in a good position. In other federal states, many more places need financial injections from the state.