The State of Vorarlberg on the Internet

Budget and financial responsibility
The State financial department is responsible for the budget which is currently (2004) around € 1.1 billion annually. In a process of coordination and negotiation between the departments and political officers, the focal points of State policy are established. As well as compiling the budget, the financial department is also responsible for implementation of the budget and financial planning.  

Financial planning – zero deficit: ensures scope for manoeuvre in difficult times
Thrifty use of the funds available is a political strategy in which the financial department provides advice and support. Vorarlberg has had a zero deficit for over 20 years. This thrifty budgeting – even in times of economic boom – ensures room for manoeuvre, particularly in difficult economic situations, when impulses can be provided to boost the economy.

Distribution of funds: assurance of equal standards of living in urban and rural communities
Most of the revenue available from federal funds and profit shares goes to the municipalities and communities of the State. The financial department is responsible for paying the federal funding to the communities and for most community promotion funds. In Vorarlberg the economically weak, small and rural communities in particular receive support in order to ensure, as far as possible, equal living standards even in rural areas. 

Strategic planning – control – monitoring:  shaping the future
The financial department must ensure that thrifty financial policy in line with the aims of State policy continues into the future. The effects of legal changes on the budget must be recognised at an early stage and the interests of the State represented against other regional authorities. Statements within the framework of legal assessment procedures on the reports of the federal and State audit offices are as much a part of the financial department's responsibilities as the monitoring and assurance of compliance with stability targets and the Maastricht treaty.  The processing of the various financial transactions of the State, e.g. taking loans, investments, assumption of liabilities etc. is one of the future-oriented responsibilities of the financial department. The wide range of activities also includes: supervisory authority for the public construction and administration associations; responsible for appeals with regard to State taxes and presentation proceedings concerning community charges. 

Financial adjustment
The financial adjustment governs the distribution of the overall revenues of the federal state (particularly from taxes and duties) over the individual regional authorities, i.e. federal government, states and communities. On the administration side the financial department plays a leading role in the negotiations on financial adjustment and is thus in close contact with offices of the federal government, particularly the ministry of finance. In order to engage successfully in these negotiations an exact knowledge of the State budget, the financial flows and the financial-legal situation as well as great negotiation skill are required. For decades Vorarlberg has supported the greatest possible degree of independence and responsibility of the states. Smaller structures are often more manageable and adaptable and therefore more successful, as regional circumstances can be given specific consideration in decision making.