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The dispute over the budget of the city of Zurich has started: the FDP rushes and rejects Daniel Leupi’s budget. The SP finds him “irresponsible”.
Züri-Leu in mask, red-green on bullock cart: The FDP is already in pre-election mode with these billboards.
Photo: PD
97.7 million francs: this is the deficit that the Zurich city council expects in the 2021 budget. The city parliament will take care of this from next Wednesday. The red-green city council wants to renounce austerity measures or a tax increase.
The budget was made up of population development, the corona pandemic and Fiscal Proposal 17, city councilor Daniel Leupi (Greens) said in the presentation in late September. The budget foresees expenses amounting to just over 9 billion francs. The effects of the crown crisis are small, at least on the income side.
“Cannot be saved anymore”
The City of Zurich FDP does not agree at all with Leupi’s financial plans. He wants to reject the budget, as he announced Thursday morning at a press conference. “The budget can no longer be saved,” said party chairman Severin Pflüger. He demands that the city council, there are also two FDP representatives on it, review the books again and present a revised budget bill to the council.
The budget was “miscalculated” and did not react to the crisis in the crown, Pflüger said. The pandemic is causing a growing deficit in the city’s accounts. But the left-dominated city council failed to meet the 2021 budget to respond to the impending decline in tax revenue. “Instead, spending is increasing without control, as if the crisis did not even exist,” complained the head of the FDP. This endangers the finances of the city and the economic and social recovery of Zurich.
FDP President Severin Pflüger wants a change of course in the financial policy of the city of Zurich.
Photo: Reto Oeschger
“Rampant growth in administration”
The main driver is the “uncontrolled growth of the administration” with increasingly special tasks, parallel structures and a flood of regulations. Entrepreneurs, the self-employed and merchants, as well as the population as a whole, would suffer painfully from this “failed policy” in the coming years.
In a budget according to the taste of the FDP, “effective spending” on infrastructure, education, strengthening of the economy and compensation for cases of social difficulties remained intact, Pflüger said. However, other spending items that have been growing for years should be reduced and tax losses anticipated.
In the sights of the bourgeoisie: Financial Director Daniel Leupi (Greens): His budget for next year shows a minus of around 98 million francs.
Photo: Andrea Zahler
The pandemic slows population growth
Until now, the city council has always based spending growth on population growth, complained FDP councilor Martina Zürcher. In the context of the future budget, you would have to reduce this spending growth.
First, spending has grown faster than population, second, population growth will be slowed by the pandemic, and third, so-called economies of scale and efficiency gains through digitization and innovation must be used much better, according to Zürcher. “After the massive collapse of the Covid-19 pandemic, our city and its administration cannot go any further according to the motto ‘Continue as before and more of the same'”. Because with the recession, equity will decline faster.
SVP supports the rejection
The FDP wants to renounce small proposals for cuts in the next budget debate, as announced by Severin Pflüger. Instead, he is submitting a postulate demanding that the city adjust the budget for the next several years to the economic effects of the pandemic and the associated global recession.
It is not yet clear whether the FDP will again require a tax cut on Wednesday. This depends on whether the red-green side of the council worsens the budget with additional loans, Pflüger said.
When asked about the possibilities of the rejection request in view of the red-green dominance in the city council, Pflüger was not overly optimistic. A ray of hope from the point of view of the FDP: the SVP supports the application of rejection, as announced on request. They will also ask for a tax cut
What the other parties think about Leupi’s budget will be revealed this afternoon. The preliminary advisory audit committee will then present its proposals.
SP does not want to disappoint companies
SP councilor Florian Utz says in an initial statement: “The rejection is irresponsible. Because to financially support the industry in the crisis, the city must continue to be able to act. The SP does not disappoint the population and industry in the Crown crisis. “
