Salzburg municipalities lead Austria’s creditworthiness ranking

Salzburg’s municipalities have comparatively little or no debt and rank at the top of a national creditworthiness comparison, ORF reports. The Centre for Administrative Research assessed the financial room for manoeuvre of all 2,109 municipalities in Austria.

Wals-Siezenheim, a municipality in the Flachgau region with around 14,500 residents, climbed 28 places from last year to rank 27 nationally. Mayor Andreas Hasenöhrl said the municipality keeps costs in check and, for example, does not have a swimming pool.

Elsbethen, also in Flachgau, rose 15 places to ninth nationally and fourth in Salzburg. Its ranking benefits in part from substantial tax payments by Red Bull, whose headquarters are in a former military barracks in the municipality.

Tweng, a small municipality in the Lungau region, ranks first both in Salzburg and nationwide. It benefits, as does Untertauern in the Pongau region, from the Obertauern ski centre, which the municipalities share in terms of territory and tax revenue.

Manfred Sampl, president of the Salzburg Municipal Association, attributed municipalities’ strong finances to a balanced mix of tourism, industry, trade and agriculture, as well as careful investment decisions.

However, Salzburg does not rank as favourably for public debt per resident. Experts cited the state government and its administration as the reason, saying their share of debt, at nearly 4,300 euros per resident, is above average compared with other Austrian states. Sampl said he expected every level of government to take the need to save seriously.

Wals-Siezenheim has an annual budget of 70 million euros and currently owes 200,000 euros, Hasenöhrl said. The debt is a loan for sewer construction taken out 45 years ago, which cannot be repaid early. He said the municipality has no other debt.