"Knife put to the neck" Canton urges Basel village to raise taxes - to save swimming pool
Waldenburg BL has decided to raise taxes in order to keep its outdoor swimming pool. The municipal assembly is thus responding to pressure from the canton.
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- The municipality of Waldenburg BL is increasing taxes by 2.5 points in order to maintain the outdoor pool despite financial deficits.
- The canton of Basel-Landschaft had given the municipality a choice: Raise taxes or close the swimming pool.
- Despite the savings measures already taken, the financial pressure remains high.
The canton of Basel-Landschaft has given the municipality of Waldenburg an ultimatum: Either taxes are increased or the outdoor pool must be closed. The reason for this drastic measure: Waldenburg has been running financial deficits for years and the municipal assets have been used up.
A municipal meeting has now decided to increase taxes by 2.5 percentage points to 72 percent in order to maintain the swimming pool.
The decision was clear with 80 votes in favor, 39 against and 10 abstentions. The municipal tax rate in Waldenburg was already the highest in the canton. The fact that a decision now had to be made between the swimming pool and a tax increase is a burden for municipal president Andrea Sulzer: "Plague or cholera, that's simply our situation now," she told "SRF".
"The knife is being put to the community's neck"
Some members of the community expressed their displeasure at the pressure from the canton. "I don't think it's entirely fair to put a knife to the community's neck," one voter is quoted as saying. Others acknowledge the necessity of the measure, especially as the financial situation is as it is.
Anton Lauber, Director of Finance for Basel, was present at the meeting and emphasized the urgency of the situation. He explained that if Waldenburg were a private company, it would have to file for bankruptcy. Despite the difficult situation, the discussion remained objective and the hope was expressed that taxes could be lowered again in the future.
Financial pressure remains
The municipality has already taken measures to save costs, such as cutting staff and reducing the opening hours of the swimming pool. Nevertheless, this was not enough to eliminate the deficit.
The new budget for 2025 envisages a small surplus, but the financial pressure remains. Waldenburg is hoping for new residents to bring in additional tax revenue and is planning to sell unused municipal buildings.
The editor wrote this article with the help of AI.