Complaint targets Innsbruck mayor over staff party

Innsbruck Mayor Johannes Anzengruber has been reported over suspected abuse of office after a city staff party, ORF reported. The Innsbruck public prosecutor’s office is assessing whether there is an initial suspicion and will then decide whether to open an investigation.

The complaint concerns an event on October 9, when about 800 city employees attended a party in a depot belonging to Innsbruck Transport Services (IVB). Neighbours complained about noise, and police were called several times, according to the Tiroler Tageszeitung.

The newspaper reported that Anzengruber and police disagreed over whether the event was private and required a permit. The mayor reportedly said it was a private party and needed no permit, but verbally issued one when police returned.

The complaint alleges that employees of the city’s Mobile Monitoring Group, which handles noise complaints, were prevented from intervening. Anzengruber has not commented on the allegations.

The Das Neue Innsbruck list called the matter “no small thing” and criticised what it described as the mayor’s “provocative lord-of-the-manor attitude”, his dealings with police and his understanding of public office.