ORF Foundation Council to Confirm Resolutions in Upcoming Meeting

The reason is that both at the inaugural meeting in June and at the meeting in September, the election of the chairman and all decisions were made by only 34 instead of the intended 35 people. Gertrude Aubauer, representative of the ORF Audience Council, resigned before the first ORF Foundation Board meeting due to possible incompatibility. As she is the deputy chairwoman of the ÖVP Seniors, she is not allowed to serve on ORF committees according to the ORF law.

ORF Foundation Board: Lederer wants meeting "without frothing at the mouth"

The top ORF body was still able to make decisions, Lederer referred to the results of audits that had been commissioned. No one - such as the media authority KommAustria - had ordered the now sought confirmation of the decisions. The chairman wants to consolidate the confirmation decisions and handle them "without frothing at the mouth." This will not take forever, but will proceed "very quickly."

"The last two Foundation Board meetings must be effectively repeated," said FPÖ media spokesperson and Secretary General Christian Hafenecker at a press conference on Tuesday, speaking of an "absolute belly flop" for the ORF, whose credibility is thereby damaged. FPÖ Foundation Board member Westenthaler saw it the same way and spoke of an "embarrassment." He does not think that the matter is off the table with a confirmation of the decisions and wants to apply for an actual re-election of the chairman. He can calmly submit the application, Lederer is relaxed about it.

ORF plans balanced budget for 2026

Apart from that, the 35-member body, which will meet again from Thursday, is also concerned with the ORF budget for 2026. According to the financial plan, a balanced budget is planned, with around 100 million euros needing to be saved to achieve this goal. The Foundation Board member sent by the ÖVP, Gregor Schütze, is pushing for a salary agreement for ORF employees below the inflation rate in times of financial pressure, and is in agreement with ORF chief Roland Weißmann, who already noted in September how important it is to reach a moderate salary agreement below the inflation rate. Negotiations between the ORF management and the works council are still ongoing. In recent years, the agreements have always been low.

Construction project "ORF Media Location" completed within budget

The construction project "ORF Media Location," budgeted at 303.7 million euros, is to be completed by dissolving the project organization requested by Weißmann in the Foundation Board. Despite "exploding construction and energy costs and negative impacts of the Corona pandemic," the construction costs of around 286.8 million euros did not fully exhaust the budget. On the contrary, it is 16.9 million euros or 5.6 percent under plan, according to the ORF to the APA. Costs for ongoing construction work, such as on the pond level, are already included in the approximately 287 million euros.

There was excitement in the meantime about the entrance area of the ORF, where the construction of a visitor center was considered or is still being considered. However, since the implementation was never a decided matter, it was never part of the planning, according to the ORF. Certain renovation works will not be implemented for the time being due to financial pressure.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.