Maz considers moving away from Lucerne
The canton of Lucerne has cut the operating subsidy of 50,000 francs for the Maz Media Training Center. The center is now considering relocating.
The Lucerne Cantonal Council's decision to definitively remove the contribution from the 2012 budget was made on Tuesday. The conservative majority, which wanted to prevent a tax increase, was tough, as with many other cost-cutting measures - and thus snubbed the Maz, as Foundation Board President Iwan Rickenbacher confirmed in media reports on Friday. The left, on the other hand, wanted to scrap the cost-cutting measure, according to SDA, and the city's finance director Stefan Roth (CVP) also supported the Maz.
The decision to make savings caused a stir among the Maz management because the canton of Lucerne is the founding canton of the journalism school and is represented on the foundation board. The Maz therefore had the feeling that Lucerne was no longer properly committed to the institution. With a budget of CHF 5.6 million, CHF 50,000 is not existential, said Rickenbacher according to SDA. But neither is it for Lucerne. Other institutions continue to receive contributions from the canton, although there is no legal obligation to do so. According to Rickenbacher, the Maz now receives the sum from private sources.
Overall, Rickenbacher rates Lucerne as a good location. However, there are other locations that fulfill the same conditions: A good media and cultural environment, or good accessibility. There are already concrete offers, for example from Zug.
