SPÖ calls for relief summit – salzburg.ORF.at
From garbage collection to dog tax, from the canal to municipal burials. There should be no tariff increases in the foreseeable future, promises Deputy Mayor Bernhard Auinger (SPÖ) for his sphere of activity: “I think the city can stop with its fees. We will do the same. I can now definitely mention the municipal companies for my area, but of course also childcare. We have already prepared a decision for that. That saves 100 euros per year for every child.”
Cheaper “public transport” demanded
But Auinger also demands a reduction in tariffs for public transport. The aim would be to halve the public transport prices, following the example of New Zealand: “We pay more than two euros for the gas. Now you could inspire people to make the switch by providing them with attractive, inexpensive public transport. The free Friday was a complete success. I’m saying it doesn’t have to be free for everything. But you can ensure a certain price stability here.”
Salzburg AG, the local energy supplier, is once again the target of relief proposals from politicians. It is incomprehensible why the electricity price is currently so high, given an in-house production rate of 40 percent, says Salzburg’s Social Councilor Anja Hagenauer (SPÖ): “I would suggest that Salzburg AG simply not increase the proportion that it produces itself. That could be achieved by the owner representatives and I expect that too.”
Anti-inflation summit called for
The SPÖ calls for an anti-inflation summit across all political levels. The goal is, for example, an early pension increase by the percentage of current inflation, that would be an increase of a good eight percent, says Cornelia Ecker, member of the National Council and chairwoman of the Flachgauer SPÖ: “We have proposed models for counter-financing, including through the profits example of the energy companies.”
In the budget of the city of Salzburg, the SPÖ wants a cost-of-living reserve to cushion the explosion in operating costs, for example in the house of nature, says Auinger: “There are at least 8,000 euros more per month, just in electricity costs. Seen over the year, that is a very handsome sum that has not been budgeted for.” All this is to be financed, among other things, from the profits of Salzburg AG.