Kirchdorf: Motion of no confidence against Pramberger passed with 17:7 votes

The house blessing has been hanging awry in the Kirchdorf town hall for some time. Because city boss Vera Pramberger (SP) had told the population that all wheels would come to a standstill in the municipality due to a lack of a budget, the VP, FP and the Greens unanimously revoked their trust. At the last local council meeting on Tuesday evening, the alliance of the three factions submitted a motion of no confidence against the city boss, who had affably mingled with the people at the traditional maypole installation the day before.

As someone who was biased about the item on the agenda, Pramberger left the room and watched the live stream from the sofa at home on the television as the motion of no confidence promptly passed in a secret ballot with 17 votes to seven. Pramberger has not yet been deposed. On June 16th, the people of Kirchdorf will be called to the polls to vote on whether the mayor will remain in office. Immediately after the vote against her in the local council, Pramberger made it clear that she would not resign before the referendum: “I see no reason for this because, while there was no budget yet, I acted in accordance with the local authority’s supervision.”

“The reason is not clear at all”

At that point, she was unable to make payments as she saw fit, which is why her scope for action was limited by law. She finds it strange that the other town hall parties submitted the motion of no confidence against her two days later, after the budget had been passed late but unanimously. It wasn’t possible before, Pramberger justified himself with the fact that Kirchdorf, as a municipality in the state’s hardship compensation system, only received the payment requirements for the fire department in March. “With these uncertainties, we simply couldn’t budget earlier.” In addition, the Kirchdorf town hall only finalized a budget in June last year. “I don’t understand the reason for the distrust at all,” says Pramberger.

For VP boss Wolfgang Dilly, the mayor has finally messed up with the other factions in the town hall with her pessimism after the delayed budget decision: “She spread reports that because of the budget that had not yet been decided, the outdoor swimming pool could no longer be opened. That was completely misinforming the population.” FP and the Greens shared his view. Although the vote of no confidence in the city boss was secret, it is clear that the three parties voted unanimously for Pramberger’s deselection.

“I want to remain mayor”

If the voters in Kirchdorf decide with a simple majority in the now legally required ballot on June 16th that Pramberger is no longer acceptable, Vice Mayor Stipo Luketina (SP) must first take over the official duties. The intermezzo is then followed by a new election of the Kirchdorf community leader by the electorate. Dilly told the OÖNachrichten that he was not interested in running as a candidate for the VP. He will continue to run his tax consultancy office in Kirchdorf, which takes up most of his time. But he sees the time as ripe for a change in the executive chair in the town hall; Who should apply for the VP in the worst case must first be decided in the party committees.

For Pramberger, there is no question of waiting for the vote of the people of Kirchdorf before any personnel consequences: “I want to remain mayor and I was directly elected by the people of Kirchdorf to do so. The voice of the people should decide again now, and I am confident that she will turn out for me.”