As of: February 5, 2024, 8:00 a.m
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A compulsory administrator is currently in charge of the Seefeld town hall.
© Kathrin Ebenhoch
Compulsory administration instead of World Cup flair: In Seefeld in Tyrol the clocks are currently running dramatically differently.
Now everyone is hoping for the future mayor.
Seefeld
- So close and yet so far apart: While in Bavaria the dissolution of a local council can only be ordered by the supervisory authorities and the associated incapacity of a community is avoided like the devil avoids holy water, in neighboring Tyrol not only the mayor can voluntarily resign, but also the local council dissolve itself.
This happened recently in Seefeld, where the business is now managed by an official administrator and there are elections on February 25th.
After Markus Wackerle's short-term resignation in October, the local council, then under the interim leadership of Deputy Mayor Andreas Steiner, was still combative.
They wanted to remain able to act and prevent an official administrator as a “final shot in the neck” for Seefeld, as local councilor Hannes Norz described it to the Plateau newspaper at the time.
But the municipality's ability to act was severely affected due to the high debts from the swimming pool and outstanding World Cup claims and, above all, the impasse between Wackerle's citizens' list and Norz's "Seefeld Move" list, whose leader had once been former mayor Werner Frießer.
My job is to take care of urgent matters and to handle the elections.
Thomas Hauser
What ultimately led to the dissolution of the local council at the end of November, the internal dispute or the massive resistance of the population against Steiner's probably poorly thought-out rescue plan to close the swimming pool, can no longer be pinpointed.
The fact is that since then an official administrator appointed by the Tyrolean state government has been running the business in Seefeld.
“My job is to take care of urgent matters and to handle the elections,” says Thomas Hauser, who has worked as a municipal auditor at the Innsbruck district administration for 38 years.
It is a task that can be mastered.
There is definitely no enthusiasm in the 58-year-old's voice.
It doesn't have to, because it's about pure administrative tasks and the development of the foundations of a consolidation package, to put it simply, a sustainable budget, as can be read in the report on the state government meeting in which Hauser was appointed as Seefeld's administrator on December 5th .
There are no political decisions to be made.
For the future mayor - Andrea Neuner from the “Seefeld Move” list, it is already clear, since no one other than her is standing for election - temporarily handing over municipal affairs to the local administrator was the only right decision to bring calm to the town.
“Mr Hauser will hand over a functioning municipal business to us and bring in external expertise.”
Anton Hiltpolt from the “Active for Seefeld” list, one of the four advisory councilors from the former local council who were assigned to Hauser, takes a much more critical view: “He does his job according to the rules.
Advisory board meetings were never called, and we as advisory boards have no chance to contribute anything or discuss a topic that currently affects the village.” That is certainly legal, but Hiltpolt leaves it open whether it is sensible in the middle of the high season for the posh ski resort .
We want and will take Seefeld out of the negative headlines.
Andrea Neuner
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The fact is that some attractions in the village, admittedly small but popular with tourists, such as an igloo with private dinners and a bar project with small gondolas on the village square, had to abruptly close their doors.
And the operators of the extremely successful Alpen-Lust-Bar at Tre.Culinaira also tried in vain to extend operations.
“These things are a shame, but we’ll just have to wait it out,” says Hilpolt.
There are only three weeks until the election date on February 25th, after which the two lists that will be the only ones running in the election agree that things will look up.
The climate between “Move Seefeld” and “Active for Seefeld” is good, everyone pulls together.
“We want and will take Seefeld out of the negative headlines and be perceived as the strong Tyrolean community again,” says Neuner, the hope bearer.
Hilpolt agrees: “We approach the challenges with a positive approach.
There is no longer any whining or scolding, but the circumstances are dealt with constructively.” He categorically rejects the closure of one of the community facilities.
The Seefeld Sports Arena is obliged to operate until 2040, and the swimming pool, with its underground car park and its use of district heating, also brings massive income for the community.
The major cost is the loan, which would have to be paid even after closing.
Kathrin Ebenhoch