The private use of two company cars by Mayor Andreas Rabl and Deputy Mayor Gerhard Kroiß (both FP) is now a case for the City Audit Office: SP, VP and Greens have commissioned it to take a closer look at the use of the two BMWs.
The three parties had already criticized the purchase of the leased electric cars in the previous year. The mayor’s office did not disclose the monthly costs. Politicians do not have to pay any taxes for the private use of cars. One vehicle is intended for the mayor, the second can in principle be used by all city senate members – but according to reports it is only used by Kroiß.
No logbooks because of data protection law
The impetus for the audit assignment now submitted was that Rabl left unanswered questions about the use of the cars at a municipal council meeting in February. Specifically, the SP wanted to know how much use was made of the company cars and who had used them since they were purchased. Rabl replied that, for data protection reasons, it was not possible to record the journeys – broken down into private and business use.
The City Audit Office should examine both the acquisition and operating costs as well as the use, especially for private purposes. Deputy Mayor Klaus Schinninger (SP) expects a report after the summer. In a broadcast, he also criticized the mayor’s communication style: He generally treats topics that are uncomfortable for him “with an inappropriate contempt for the entire municipal council.”
He welcomes the test, Rabl said yesterday in a written statement: “This confirms that the e-cars desired by the city senate are the cheapest alternative.” He also pointed out that Wels is the only statutory city in which neither mayor nor the deputy mayor have a chauffeur. He called the discussion a “political action to launder political pocket change”.
author
Valentin Bayer
Editor Upper Austria
Valentin Bayer
