In view of the rather dry subject matter, it is rare that there is an almost exuberant mood at a meeting of the finance committee. On Tuesday evening, however, the Zornedingen councilors were all happy because they were allowed to pursue their favorite pastime again: save money. The municipality is one of the few in the region that has been debt-free for years – and it looks like it will remain so for some time. In any case, there was now good news in the preparation of a supplementary budget for the current financial year. Since the income has so far been higher than expected, but the expenditure is lower than planned, the municipality can set aside more than three million euros.
“Very gratifying,” said Mayor Piet Mayr (CSU) at the meeting. The money saved is now available for future investments. In the community, however, you could not really count on the full plus, in view of the still rampant corona pandemic, the financial omens were rather bleak. All the greater is the relief that everything did not turn out as badly as feared when the budget was drawn up at the beginning of the year. The unexpected surplus results primarily from income for trade tax, which is almost EUR 800,000 higher than forecast a few months ago. “That stands out, of course,” said Mayr, who, however, also restricted the fact that this item contained a certain degree of fuzziness. The income from this year’s trade tax reflects the status of two years ago. “Everything was okay then,” said Mayr. But how the flow of money will look in the future remains to be seen.
The Zornedinger also have to be patient with some projects that could not be implemented this year as originally planned – and that are accordingly not reflected in the budget. “We don’t have to force the money to be spent. Then it’ll just go back to the reserves,” said Mayr, much to the delight of Franz Lenz (FW): “That’s great! We do it every year now,” he joked Local council knowing full well that postponed is not immediately canceled.
This applies, for example, to the footpath and bike path between the districts of Ingelsberg and Pöring. Not all of the money has been paid for the work, which is why the measure will appear again in the new budget with around 230,000 euros. There are also open items of around 120,000 euros for the renewal of the street lighting. Not too much has happened this year with the renovation of the TSV restaurant. Originally 450,000 euros were planned for this year, but the municipality actually only spent 150,000. This is mainly due to the fact that it is not yet clear which gastronomic direction the clubhouse will take in the future. A concept in the American sports bar style is up for debate, but if it is implemented it will cost significantly more than initially planned.
In any case, there would be money for such treats after the previous budget year. Nevertheless, it is hardly conceivable that the Zornedingen municipal councils are now carelessly handling their additional financial cushion – especially in these uncertain times.