During a meeting on Monday, Eicher thus pressed members and stated that the problem is in urgent need of a solution.
Contrary to how the government works, municipalities have a ‘foresight fund’ that covers the salaries and pensions of their employees. A reform further regulates that while the government has to take care of teaching staff in primary schools, it is the responsibility of municipalities to pay the pensions of their agents.
“I think we made a bad deal”, said Eicher and pointed out that the number of pensioners is drastically increasing while that of taxpayers has remained relatively stable in the past four to five years. He forecast a deficit of €63.5 million for 2024 and expects that number to increase by €10 million each of the two following years.
According to the Syvicol president, the solution proposed by the Minister for Home Affairs to proportionally increase rates every year is not feasible as it will mean that by 2026, municipalities have to cover more than 50%. People deserve their pension and the government therefore has to find new ways of financing them, concluded Eicher.
