In 2024, the Mykolaiv budget will be able to spend less than ₴400 million on development

The development budget of Mykolaiv, which is aimed at the implementation of city projects in various areas, will amount to about 347 million hryvnias in 2024.

On Monday, December 18, the director of the city council's finance department, Vira Sviatelyk, told about this during a meeting of the commission on legality and publicity, NikVesti writes.

The revenues of the budget of Mykolaiv are determined in the amount of 4 billion 894 million 105 thousand 561 hryvnias, including the revenues of the general budget fund — 4 billion 650 million 519 thousand 226 hryvnias and the revenues of the special budget fund — 243 million 586 thousand 335 hryvnias.

Budget expenditures of the Mykolaiv City Territorial Community will amount to 4 billion 928 million 349 thousand 737 hryvnias, including expenditures from the general budget fund — 4 billion 140 million 515 thousand 901 hryvnias and special fund expenditures. The reserve fund was planned in the amount of 50 million hryvnias.

Next year's development budget will amount to 787 million 883 thousand 836 hryvnias. Of them, the loan for the purchase of buses is 264.3 million hryvnias, the state subsidy for the implementation of measures to restore critical infrastructure facilities within the framework of a joint project with the EBRD is 175 million 950 thousand hryvnias.

Taking into account the granted loans and subsidies, the development budget of Mykolaiv actually amounts to 347 million 555 thousand hryvnias.

«The development budget is very small, it amounts to 787 million hryvnias, of which about 200 million are borrowed funds for the purchase of city passenger buses and 175 million are subsidized funds for the development of infrastructure for three communal enterprises,» the director of the finance department, Vira Sviatelyk, said.

The main development budget of Mykolaiv, which is aimed at the implementation of city projects, is distributed as follows.

The Executive Committee of Mykolaiv City Council — 297 million 145 thousand hryvnias, from which funds will be sent to:

• Purchase of public transport (buses). The loan is in the amount of 213 million 750 thousand hryvnias and 20% VAT for the purchase of buses is 50 million 625 thousand 506 hryvnias.
• New construction of information and telecommunication system of video surveillance and video analytics «Safe City of Mykolaiv» — 32 million 404 thousand 98 hryvnias.
• Provision of housing for young families and single young citizens of Mykolaiv, according to the program, in the amount of 9 million 697 thousand hryvnias.

Department of housing and communal services of the Mykolaiv City Council. Capital expenditures amount to 66 million 945 thousand 360 hryvnias:

• Overhaul of storm sewer networks on the street. Lazurna, including production of PCD and examination — 1.5 million hryvnias.
• Overhaul of the road on the street. Varvarivskyi descent, including production of PCD and examination (transitional) — 86 thousand 100 hryvnias.
• Overhaul of the road on the street. Novozavodska from st. Kherson highway to st. Whalers, incl. adjustment of PCD and examination — 123 thousand 436 hryvnias.
• Reconstruction of the road along the street. Khersonske Shose from St. Novozavodska to Bohoiavlenskyi Ave., including project work and expertise — 1.8 million hryvnias.
• New construction of a household waste processing complex in Mykolaiv, incl. pre-project, design works and expertise — 2.25 million hryvnias.
• Overhaul of the traffic lights on Bohoiavlenskyi Ave. from St. Avangardna to St. Kuznetska in Mykolaiv — 8.5 million hryvnias.
• Overhaul of the sidewalk along Heroiv Ukrainy Avenue (odd side) from the bridge over the Inhul River to the «Orion» bus station (Ternivske Ring) in the Central District of Mykolaiv — 798,000 hryvnias.
• Capital repair of the housing stock: roofing of indoor systems and other works — 52 million 100 thousand hryvnias.

The development budget for the health care management of Mykolaiv City Council is 74 million 285 thousand hryvnias. It will be directed to purchase medical equipment and update the material and technical base to improve the provision of medical services.

Capital expenditures of the Department of Energy, Energy Saving and Implementation of Innovative Technologies of the Mykolaiv City Council amount to 36 million 650 thousand hryvnias:

• Major repairs in terms of replacement of windows and entrance doors in kindergartens and schools — 10 million 538 thousand hryvnias.
• Capital repair of the roof with insulation and modernization of engineering networks «City Children's Hospital No. 2» — 5 million 143 thousand hryvnias.
• 3.5 million hryvnias for the installation of a solar power plant and capital repair (energy-efficient thermal sanitation) of maternity hospital No. 3.
• Reconstruction of heat networks in the city — 15.5 million hryvnias.

The Department of Emergency Situations and Civil Protection of the Population of the Mykolaiv City Council will direct the development budget in the amount of 5 million hryvnias to maintain and bring the means of collective defense to readiness for use as intended.

The Department of Capital Construction of the Mykolaiv City Council will allocate 46 million 270 thousand hryvnias of the development budget for the overhaul of the automatic fire system in educational institutions, the construction of shelters, and the overhaul of food blocks.

Department of Education of the Mykolayiv City Council, whose total capital expenditures are 6 million 166 thousand hryvnias.

• It is planned to allocate 1 million 790 thousand hryvnias for the purchase of food block equipment.
• Purchase of computer equipment, laptops — 2 million 376 thousand hryvnias.
• Co-financing for the creation of educational and practical centers — 2 million hryvnias.
  

The head of the commission, a member of the Mykolaiv City Council, Olena Kiseliova, asked why the city budget has planned funds for the provision of food blocks in educational institutions, if children are not actually studying offline.

«Purchase of food block equipment. And why do we need to set up food blocks now?» asked the deputy.

«We have a state program. We will be given a subvention from the state budget for food blocks,» answered the director of the finance department, Vira Sviatelyk.

«So our children don't go to school, why do we need food blocks? For the future?» asked Olena Kiseliova.

«Probably so,» answered the director of the finance department.

Olena Kiseliova also asked whether the city budget for the next year has funds planned to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

«You know that today public opinion is that budget funds should be spent rationally. Can we tell the residents of the city, for example, that next year the city budget will not allocate funds for paving, if it is not related to emergency works? Can we say how much the city budget allocates for the Armed Forces?» said the deputy.

The director of the finance department noted that the draft budget does not provide funds for the financing of the Armed Forces, as such expenditures are usually made at the expense of the free balance or when the budget is over-executed. Therefore, the military subvention can be considered only if there are free funds after the completion of calculations for other areas.

«The subsidy of the state budget is allocated either at the expense of the free balance, or in the event of over-execution of the budget. When there was a session of the city council in March, we allocated funds at the expense of the free balance. Therefore, funds in the local budget for 2024 are not provided for military subvention. The budget includes funds only for the food of TRO. We cannot lay down a subsidy for military units, we can wait for the free balance and distribute it,» said Vira Sviatelyk.

After discussion, the members of the legality and publicity commission agreed to present the draft decision «On the budget of the Mykolaiv city territorial community for 2024» for consideration by the session of the Mykolaiv city council.

It will be recalled that Mykolayiv City Hall predicts that next year the city's budget revenues will amount to 4.8 billion hryvnias.

In 2024, 2.4 billion hryvnias are planned to be spent on wages and salary accruals of employees of budgetary institutions in Mykolaiv. The director of the finance department of the Mykolaiv city council, Vira Sviatelyk, said that next year the salaries of state employees should be increased by 16-20%. The percentage will depend on the tariff grid or the minimum wage.

It was also reported that in the first half of 2023, almost half of all expenses of the budget of Mykolaiv went to support state employees.

As you know, within the framework of the law «On the state budget for 2024», the Cabinet of Ministers plans to direct all revenues from the personal income tax of military personnel, 64% of which currently remain in local budgets, to the state budget. The Association of Cities of Ukraine believes that these funds will most likely be dissolved in the state budget, as well as 36% of the current personal income tax, which is administered by the Ministry of Finance. We are talking about 25.8 billion hryvnias this year and 93.7 billion hryvnias next year, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal specified the day before.

The budget of Mykolaiv will thus lose 2.7 billion hryvnias, the mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych said. This year, the city's budget will lack about 740 million hryvnias.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine can allocate over 517 million hryvnias to the communities of the Mykolaiv region to compensate for the loss of personal income tax from military income.