Departments of the City Administration

The departments are headed by officials referred to as Heads of Department, who have full responsibility for their departments and are both authorised and obligated to give instructions to all members of their staff. Departments thus follow a monocratic structure.

All heads of departments have a basic right to self-organisation, i.e. they are entitled to determine the internal structure of their department in accordance with the tasks assigned to it. When it comes to the number and rank of service posts in their department, however, they are bound by the decisions and standards set by the Chief Executive Office. The rights and duties of heads of departments and their staff are laid down in the Rules of Procedure of the Vienna City Administration.

As a rule, departments have only limited competencies with regard to the utilisation of funds for the tasks assigned to them. Once a year the City Council decides on the extent to which the City Administration (and its departments) may dispose of these funds without prior consultation of the City Council, City Senate or competent Council Committee.

German version of the City Council decision determining autonomous spending thresholds for 2023 (in German)

Important stipulations on the implementation of the budget (i.e. the budget estimate) are laid down in the 2018 Budget Regulations for the Vienna City Administration. It should be noted that every project the City Administration plans to spend money on MUST be provided for in the budget (which is adopted by the City Council). Expenses not provided for in the budget require separate approval.