Municipality comes away empty-handed

Dispute over parking lot funds in the cultural capital

Allegations of lies have emerged about the construction of the underground parking garage at the Hotel Grand Elisabeth.(Bild: Hörmandinger Reinhard)

Two new underground parking garages are currently being built in Bad Ischl. However, the future parking fees will only go to the developers and not to the town. In this context, the citizens' list "Zukunft Ischl" accuses SP city leader Ines Schiller of lying. The mayor denies the accusations. 

Untrue statements have cost Mayor Klaus Luger his job. Now the Mathes list in Bad Ischl has discovered another affair of lies by a city leader. As recordings of a TV report from 2021 show, Mayor Ines Schiller claimed that the income from the municipality's own parking spaces would go to the municipality.

The mayor of Bad Ischl, Ines Schiller.(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

But now it turns out that the parking fees from the underground parking garage will go to the developers for the duration of the 99-year building rights contract. The income from the surface parking lots will flow into the developers' coffers for 15 years.

Citizens' list identifies scandal
"This gift of millions to the real estate developers is a scandal," rumbles Citizens' List parliamentary group leader Markus Schiendorfer. In his view, the city is losing five million euros, spread over 15 years. List leader Hannes Mathes is also bitterly disappointed with Schiller: "The fact that she deliberately told the public the untruth about this gift of millions before the election only makes the whole thing worse for me. It was a key issue in the election campaign."

City has a say
Schiller rejects the accusations of lying: "At the time, the plan was for the city to build the parking spaces and collect the fees for them. Due to the cost increases, the city can no longer afford the underground car parks. That's why the installers are allowed to keep the fees." Schiller points out that the city has a say in the tariffs.