Budget forecast rejected, hospital changes approved after a break: What happened at Mykolaiv City Council meeting

On Thursday, 29 October, a session of the Mykolaiv City Council took place. Councillors considered a number of land-related issues, discussed but did not approve the local authority’s budget forecast for 2027–2029, and passed resolutions concerning the city’s utility companies and healthcare facilities.

NikVesti reports on the key decisions and discussions during the meeting.

At the session on 29 October, councillors considered land, budgetary and other issues; screenshot from the Mykolaiv City Council broadcast

Land in the Korabelnyi district for modular housing

Among the land-related issues, councillors considered the approval of a land-use plan and the transfer of five plots of land in the Korabelnyi district to the Department of Municipal Services for permanent use.

This concerns an area on Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue with a total area of 2,500 square metres. Each of the five plots covers an area of 500 square metres. The land is intended to be used for the construction of modular residential buildings with the support of international donors.

City Council Secretary Dmytro Falko proposed putting the matter to a separate vote, as, in his words, the land registration process needs to be completed promptly. At a previous session, councillors had already granted permission to draw up the relevant documentation, and the city was now due to approve the final land-use plan.

Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych stated that the authorities had also approached their partners with a request to consider the possibility of accommodating a greater number of houses on this site. To this end, in particular, it is proposed to reduce the size of the areas surrounding the buildings.

«So that it is a pleasant place to live and forms a small neighbourhood. We are therefore working on this, and I would ask for your urgent support on this matter as well,» said the mayor.

As a result, councillors backed the decision and transferred all five plots of land to the Department of Urban Development for permanent use.

Space of Captivity Remembrance on Sadova Street

Councillors supported the creation of the «Space of Remembrance for Captivity» on Sadova Street in Mykolaiv. Photo: NikVesti

The councillors also backed the decision to name the section of Sadove Street running along the boulevard – between Spaska Street and Vadym Blahovisnyi Street — the «Space of Remembrance for Captivity». As the city’s chief architect, Yevhen Poliakov, explained, work on the initiative began in January 2026. Families of servicemen and prisoners of war, veterans, military personnel and other interested residents were involved in the discussions. A petition in support of creating the space was signed by 466 people.

«We watch the news and hear that people have returned from captivity; we always look for people from the Mykolaiv region among them, and we find them there every time. In our view, this deserves to be honoured, at the very least, in the city’s place names. We need to provide people with a place that they will accept, and design it in such a way as to preserve this memory,» noted the chief architect.

At the same time, councillor Olena Kiseliova pointed out that the city should give separate consideration to creating a fully-fledged memorial complex in honour of Ukraine’s defenders. In her view, a space for rest and leisure might clash with the atmosphere of a place of remembrance.

Polyakov agreed that Mykolaiv needs such a complex. He suggested that one possible location for it could be the area near the regional military administration building, which was damaged by a Russian missile strike. At the same time, he emphasised the need to involve the military, first and foremost, in developing the concept.

The decision to name the site the «Space of Remembrance for Captivity» was supported by 32 councillors.

The budget forecast did not receive the required number of votes

Some city councillors attended the session in person, but the majority were online; screenshot from the Mykolaiv City Council broadcast

After considering land-related issues, the councillors moved on to discussing the budget forecast for the Mykolaiv City Territorial Community for 2027–2029.

Vira Sviatelyk, Director of the City Council’s Finance Department, reported that the community’s financial outlook remains challenging. According to her, the resumption of medium-term budget forecasting has shown that the city’s own funds may be insufficient to ensure its full functioning.

In the draft forecast, the community’s revenue, taking into account inter-budgetary transfers, was set at 5.671 billion hryvnias in 2027, 6.267 billion hryvnias in 2028 and 6.876 billion hryvnias in 2029.

According to Appendix 2 to the draft, in 2027 the largest source of revenue for the general fund was to be personal income tax — 3.452 billion hryvnias. Revenue from the single tax was forecast at 905 million hryvnias, and from property tax at 568.3 million hryvnias.

According to Annex 1, budget expenditure was forecast at 5.062 billion hryvnias in 2027, 5.570 billion hryvnias in 2028 and 6.207 billion hryvnias in 2029. Separate provisions were made for the granting of loans: 294 million, 384.6 million and 355 million hryvnias respectively. The majority of this lending consisted of funds to cover guarantee obligations for borrowers who had received loans backed by local guarantees.

The estimates for 2027–2029 do not include transfers from the state budget. At the same time, subventions from the regional budget for social protection are provided for: approximately 7.7 million hryvnias in 2027, 8.9 million in 2028 and 8.8 million in 2029. Consequently, the revenue figures set out in the draft should not be equated with the final figures in future annual budgets.

One of the reasons for the downward revision of the forecast is that the city no longer expects the military personal income tax to be returned to the local budget from 2027 onwards.

«Unfortunately, last year’s forecast — which was based on the Ministry of Finance’s guidelines stating that the military personal income tax would be returned to us from 2027 — has not materialised. And this year, there is not even a promise that it will be returned. Therefore, we must rely solely on our own revenue,» explained Vira Sviatelyk.

Among the spending priorities for the coming years, the draft forecast highlighted the fitting out of shelters in educational establishments, the creation of safe conditions for children, support for municipal healthcare facilities, the development of rehabilitation services and social support for vulnerable groups.

During the discussion, Councillor Olena Kiseliova questioned the effectiveness of this year’s allocation of budget funds. She stated that Mykolaiv’s budget for 2026 had effectively become a budget to support municipal enterprises, and asked for information on the actual results of such funding.

«We have, in essence, made this year’s budget a budget for a bright future for municipal enterprises. I would like to hear just how effective this has been,» said the councillor.

Separately, Kiseliova drew attention to the funding of shelters. She enquired whether the city had sufficient resources to purchase and repair protective structures, as, despite numerous community development plans, this issue remains a top priority.

The councillor also requested information on the actual costs of maintaining municipal enterprises, the city council’s executive bodies and municipal institutions in 2026, as well as forecast figures for the coming years.

Following a discussion and questions from councillors regarding the calculations, revenue and expenditure, the draft resolution was put to a vote. Twenty-five councillors voted in favour, one against, and eight abstained. A total of 34 councillors took part in the vote. The resolution was not adopted.

Consequently, the City Council did not approve the proposed budget forecast for 2027–2029. The document was intended to set out medium-term financial targets and serve as the basis for drawing up the draft budget for 2027.

The need for shelters and the feasibility of their development

During the session, Olena Kiseliova also requested a list of the city’s shelters, information on the persons responsible for them, and details of any structures that cannot be used for their intended purpose. The councillor proposed analysing the needs of each neighbourhood, taking into account the number of residents, the capacity of the shelters and their distance from residential buildings.

In response, Oleksandr Sienkevych acknowledged that there are not enough shelters in Mykolaiv. In particular, he drew attention to the situation in Namyv, where the construction of underground structures is complicated by high groundwater levels. The mayor also highlighted the community’s financial difficulties, particularly regarding the payment of salaries to education and culture sector staff.

Kiselova noted that the city must determine the specific need for shelters and the locations for their construction. She suggested seeking state support and considering the possibility of requisitioning private cellars and other premises for public use. This was a proposal made by the councillor during the discussion.

Montavon’s dismissal from the supervisory board of «Mykolaivvodokanal»

During the session, councillors considered for a second time the issue of Hanna Montavon’s dismissal from the supervisory board of «Mykolaivvodokanal». She had submitted her resignation back in September, but at the previous city council session, councillors did not support the relevant resolution. According to Dmytro Falko, Montavon continued to receive payments until her employment was terminated.

City Council Secretary Dmytro Falko reminded councillors of the previous vote and stated that, in his view, Montavon was effectively no longer performing her duties. During the discussion, councillor Olena Kiselova reacted emotionally to the situation and asked: «Are you guys dumb?»

«I hope not all of you, and I certainly hope not me,» replied Dmytro Falko.

Instead of Hanna Montavon, it was proposed that Dmytro Novytskyi — president of the Ukrainian Association of Water Supply and Sewerage Enterprises «Ukrvodokanalekologiia» — be appointed to the supervisory board.

As previously reported by NikVesti, Novytskyi headed «Kyivvodokanal» from April 2016 to April 2021. Prior to that, he worked in the housing and utilities sector and in local government, notably serving as deputy mayor of Vyshhorod and heading the Main Department of Municipal Services at the Kyiv City State Administration. When his candidacy was put forward in September, the mayor’s adviser Yuliia Mincheva also stated that he is a member of the supervisory board of «Lvivvodokanal».

Novytskyi’s candidacy was put forward by the city authorities in September. At a meeting on 21 September, the Housing and Utilities Committee did not approve it, as councillors wished to speak to the candidate in person, but he had not been invited to the committee meeting.

At the session on 24 September, Novytskyi joined the meeting online from Denmark. Responding to a question about his motivation, he expressed a desire to help the water utility and improve the state of the water supply and sewerage sector. During the discussion, he also noted that, in the context of the war, water tariffs cannot be viewed solely as an economic issue. At that point, the proposal to change the composition of the supervisory board received 26 votes in favour but was not adopted.

Councillors supported the dismissal of Hanna Montavon and the appointment of Dmytro Novytskyi by 29 votes. Four councillors abstained; there were no votes against.

The decision adopted on 29 October concerns the inclusion of Novytskyi on the supervisory board. The chair of the board is elected by the board members themselves.

Amendments to the articles of association of the reorganised City Hospital №4 and a grant for the maternity hospital

The councillors also considered amendments to the charter of City Hospital №4, to which three further medical institutions had previously begun to be merged: the City Emergency Hospital, City Hospital №1 and City Children’s Hospital №2. As Tetiana Dmytrova, a representative of the city council, explained, the amendments are necessary to complete the legal procedures for the reorganisation, to obtain medical licences and to ensure continued funding for the merged institution from the National Health Service of Ukraine.

In particular, it was proposed to amend the charter to change the title of the head of the institution from «director» to «chief executive», as well as to clarify the provisions regarding the hospital’s assets. As the process of merging the three healthcare facilities is not yet complete, references to their property – which will be transferred once the reorganisation is complete – have been removed from the document.

The need for urgent consideration was explained by the deadlines for submitting documents: Hospital №4 was required to submit them by 30 October in order to obtain a medical licence. At the same time, the legal formalities for the merger were delayed due to a tax audit, which was expected to be completed in November.

During the first vote, the decision fell one vote short of passing. Some councillors experienced technical difficulties with the voting process, and the number of participants in the online meeting had decreased.

After more than two hours of the meeting, City Council Secretary Dmytro Falko announced a recess to ensure a quorum.

After the recess, the mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, joined the meeting and proposed that the results of the previous vote be annulled. This proposal was supported by 30 votes. Following a reconsideration, 31 councillors voted in favour of the amendments to the charter of Hospital №4.

In addition, during the session, an agreement was approved on the transfer of a grant from the city budget to the regional budget to ensure the continued operation of the former City Maternity Hospital No. 3. The sum involved is nearly 755,000 hryvnias.

The facility had previously been transferred from the municipal ownership of Mykolaiv to the ownership of the region; however, the city was required to cover the costs associated with its operation until the transfer took place.

According to Iryna Shamrai, head of the city’s health department, the funds were allocated for medicines and dressings, payment for services and heating.

Specifically, around 313,000 hryvnias were earmarked for medicines and dressings, around 301,000 hryvnias for service charges, and a further 140,000 hryvnias for heating.

Twenty-nine councillors voted in favour of the decision, whilst two abstained.

Instructions regarding road repairs

During the meeting, Oleksandr Sienkevych instructed that the road surface at the junction of Tsentralnyi Avenue and 6th Slobidska Street be repaired as a matter of urgency. According to the mayor, following repairs to the underground utilities, the tarmac has subsided, creating a sharp drop in level which vehicles are driving over.

The mayor instructed the Department of Housing and Communal Services and the relevant deputy, Yurii Andriienko, to find out who carried out the excavation work on this section and to ensure the road is brought up to standard.