“A vote of confidence in the work of the municipal council and parliament”: Reactions to the rejection of the highly controversial financial referendum in Herisau
In the municipality of Herisau, the optional referendum for the budget and the tax rate will not be introduced. This was the result of the vote on the popular initiative “Financial Referendum.” Municipal President Max Eugster is relieved. SVP President Reto Sonderegger, on the other hand, has an explanation for why it did not result in a yes.
Currently, the residents’ council has the final word on the budget of the municipality of Herisau.
In Herisau, the residents’ council still has the final word on the budget. The controversial financial referendum was clearly rejected on Sunday after weeks of intense discussions. There were 1,890 yes votes, while 2,433 eligible voters submitted a no vote. This corresponds to a no vote share of 56.3 percent. The voter turnout was 44.7 percent.
The initiative required the introduction of an optional referendum for the budget and the tax rate of the municipality of Herisau. It was planned to collect 200 signatures. The initiative was submitted by a 16-member committee, with some members belonging to the “Herisau-living&democratic” grouping. The SVP and the trade/PU faction also supported the financial referendum. In contrast, the FDP, Center, SP, EVP, and GLP issued a no recommendation.
Municipal president is relieved
Max Eugster, President of Herisau.
Municipal President Max Eugster expresses relief in his first reaction to the no vote on the financial referendum. “I would like to sincerely thank the voters for this clear decision.” Starting the budget process four months earlier would have been possible, in his opinion, but it would have been significantly more difficult.
The clear rejection surprises Eugster, especially since the opinions in the letters to the editor conveyed a different picture. He interprets the decision not to introduce the financial referendum as a vote of confidence in the work of the municipal council and the residents’ council. “Furthermore, the population understands that it makes more sense to scrutinize costs at their inception rather than in the subsequent budgets,” says Eugster, noting that this is already possible today.
He cites the vote on the fruit market loan as an example. Given the strained financial situation of the municipality of Herisau, the municipal council and residents’ council must continue to separate what is feasible from what is desirable.
Initiative committee unwilling to comment
Silvia Taisch Dudli,
SP member of the residents’ council.
Several members of the residents’ council, including Silvia Taisch Dudli, fought for the maintenance of the previous approval practices for the budget and tax rate ahead of the vote. “I interpret the clear no as a vote of confidence in the work of the municipal council and parliament,” says the SP member of the residents’ council. She had been cautiously optimistic before the vote that the progressive residents of Herisau would recognize the advantages of the existing system.
However, Taisch Dudli did not expect such a clear result. She attributes the rejection to the fact that the proposed changes did not contribute anything constructive to Herisau’s financial policy and that the demanded right to participation already existed in sufficient measure.
The losers of the day are the initiative committee. They acknowledge the voting result and accept the democratic will of the people, as stated in a brief statement. Now it is up to the municipal council to continue to carefully initiate the budget process. The residents’ council should critically evaluate this and question it on behalf of the voting public if necessary.
Criticism of the poster regulations
Reto Sonderegger, President of SVP Herisau.
The SVP was among those promoting the financial referendum. SVP President Reto Sonderegger is somewhat disappointed that it did not reach a yes. “My impression is that people were less interested in this issue than, for example, in the one regarding the fruit market, which was about a specific business matter.” The sifting through numerical data in the budget is best left to others. Perhaps not enough was communicated that a public vote on the budget and tax rate would still have remained the exception, says Sonderegger. Others may have been led to a no vote by the opponents’ fear campaign.
“No one wanted to block culture or clubs, as was claimed,” emphasizes Sonderegger. The reporting in this newspaper was also not exactly advantageous to the popular initiative. In addition, the election campaign was made more difficult by the municipality’s poster regulations, criticizes the SVP president.