In the city of Salzburg

Unexpected windfall: Budget better than expected

The City of Salzburg is pleased to have only a small deficit in 2024.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

Instead of the planned 100 million euro deficit last year, it is now only six million euros. There are several reasons for this, including a special dividend of three million euros from Salzburg AG.

"When we have a fixed budget plan in the fall, we don't yet know many factors for the coming year," explains Mayor Bernhard Auinger (SPÖ). That's why you always have to budget carefully. One example of this is the Salzburg AG dividend. This amounts to at least ten million euros per year. "That's why it is budgeted in exactly the same way," says the city boss. Two weeks ago, however, it was announced that there will be a special dividend of around three million euros for the past year. This reduces the assumed deficit. In the end, a deficit of six million euros remained from last year. The state capital had expected a deficit of just under 100 million euros.

The big chunks that caused the deficit to shrink are the S-Link and the Salzburger Immobiliengesellschaft (SIG). The failed S-Link project saved the city 16 million euros. In the case of SIG, delays and unrealized projects resulted in savings of around 15 million euros. The rest of the more than 90 million euro difference came from unanticipated income. The city did not yet know how the wage settlements would turn out when the budget was being prepared. The higher they are, the more municipal tax flows into the city budget.

"We generally want to be more precise in the future," says Auinger, adding: "Our aim is to make the budget more accurate in order to use the financial leeway more efficiently." Incidentally, those responsible are assuming a deficit of 105 million euros for 2025...