Mayor:

“The most difficult times are still ahead of us”

In the coming years, projects in the market town will be postponed.

(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

Strasswalchen's mayor Tanja Kreer talks about the municipality's financial situation and what to expect. The search for new employees in the kindergarten and retirement home also remains difficult.

The outlook for the local municipalities is anything but rosy. The financial pressure on local authorities continues to grow. Rising costs everywhere and falling revenues - for example due to the important revenue shares from the federal government - are clouding the outlook for the future. For Straßwalchen's mayor Tanja Kreer (SPÖ) it is therefore clear: "The most difficult times are still ahead of us!" She expects the next two years to be the toughest, especially when it comes to the financial situation.

The most difficult time is still ahead of us in the municipalities. Financially, it will be very tough over the next two years.

Tanja Kreer (SPÖ), Bürgermeisterin der Gemeinde Straßwalchen

Bild: Tschepp Markus

Impact on planned projects
The great uncertainty clearly has an impact on the planning of projects in the village. "For example, we have to postpone our new recycling center again," says the mayor. A new municipal office building has also been postponed indefinitely. On the one hand, the politicians have not yet decided on a location where it should be built, and on the other, "the project is not a priority at the moment because there is no more money for it," says Kreer. After all, the new building would cost 20 million euros.

Tense situation in the search for personnel
However, projects already started in Straßwalchen will be continued. The deaf center will be implemented in the coming year, the renovation of the town center will continue and the renovation of the retirement home will also be completed. The latter was financed from reserves. In addition to the financial pressure, the village must also continue to fight for every employee. "I've been looking for a group leader for the kindergarten for four months now. Finding staff for the retirement home is also difficult," says Kreer.