Salzburg mayor barred from cutting his own salary

The mayor of Ebenau, Johannes Fürstaller of the ÖVP, cannot voluntarily reduce his pay despite the municipality’s budget problems, ORF reported. He had proposed a 10 percent cut as a symbolic gesture, but the municipal supervisory authority said he was not allowed to do so.

Fürstaller said the proposed saving of 6,000 euros would be “a drop in the ocean” and that his aim was to send a signal. He said the municipality no longer knew where it could make savings without failing to provide a mandatory service, breaching a contract or breaking the law.

Ebenau, a municipality in Salzburg’s Flachgau region, is one of seven municipalities in the state that need financial support from the state to cover expenses such as staff, kindergartens and waste collection.

Mayors’ salaries are set by law and vary according to population. In municipalities with fewer than 2,000 residents, the monthly gross salary is about 6,000 euros. Ebenau has around 1,500 residents.