In a push to cut CZK 614 million in costs, the City of Prague is looking to save money on transport and property expenses. Mayor Zdenek Hrib suggested that the city shouldn’t be renting as many buildings for its employees as it currently does. But he said the subject of investments wouldn’t come up until the fall. It’s a topic where he can expect some pushback, however. “We support all suggestions for saving money but the one place where we don’t want to save is on investments,” said Jiri Pospisil, whose party is part of the coalition that currently controls Prague. “It’s not possible to cut off investments of the city especially in transport infrastructure and education.” Hrib also criticized the government for its failure to help regions, demanding that they receive CZK 500 per inhabitant to go along with the CZK 1,250 that municipalities already get from the budget. He pointed out that the City of Prague is already losing money through its support for hotels and restaurants. Hotels don’t have to pay the tourist tax for the time being, while restaurants have been freed from paying for space for sidewalk seating in public space.
