Educational and cultural institutions in Mykolaiv are short of over ₴50 million for salaries until the end of the year
- News of Mykolaiv
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- Anna Hakman
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8:45, 17 April, 2026
Yuriy Lyubarov, Head of the Culture Department at Mykolaiv City Council, archive photo: NikVestiIn Mykolaiv, educational and cultural institutions are short of over 50 million hryvnias for salaries until the end of the year. The sector’s budget for 2026 is almost a third smaller than last year.
This was announced by Yurii Liubarov, Head of the Culture Department of Mykolaiv, during a live broadcast on Facebook, according to NikVesti.
According to him, the situation has been exacerbated by increases in the minimum wage and the rising cost of utilities.
«The budget for this year, 2026, is almost a third smaller than the culture sector’s budget in 2025. “Given the lack of funding, with Mykolaiv having a smaller overall budget than in previous years, the cultural sector has also received less funding than last year. Furthermore, the minimum wage has risen this year and the cost of utilities has increased significantly, which also places an additional burden on the budget,» said Yurii Liubarov.
Furthermore, he noted that when the budget request was drawn up at the end of 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers’ decision to increase the basic salaries of teaching staff by 40% was not taken into account.
«These are music directors, teachers at our art schools, and all teachers at art and general education schools; their salaries were increased by 40% at the end of December. And this was also not taken into account in the budget we drew up back in November 2025. The need for additional funds as a result of this increase has already reached almost 15 million hryvnias for salaries and benefits,» explained Yurii Liubarov.
He noted that the current total shortfall in funds for salaries until the end of the year exceeds 50 million hryvnias. Of this, around 26 million hryvnias is lacking for educational institutions, and a further 20 million hryvnias for cultural institutions.
«What happens in such cases? Institutions in the sector are forced to take drastic measures due to limited funding. This includes forced temporary staff reductions and a reduction in teaching staff’s workload. Sometimes it even involves sending people on unpaid leave and the temporary closure of, for example, library branches. I would like to note that, despite such limited funding, both the administration and every cultural institution are doing everything possible to cut back on all non-essential expenditure. Maximum savings are being made on utilities, electricity, water and so on,» concluded Yurii Liubarov.
There is a shortfall in Mykolaiv’s budget. What is known?
The Mykolaiv City Council has appealed to the government and parliament to provide an additional grant from the state budget. According to the city’s calculations, its own budget revenue for 2026 covers only 82.5% of actual needs, and the financial shortfall exceeds 1 billion 140 million hryvnias.
In total, budget revenue for 2026 amounts to 5 billion 546 million hryvnias, whilst total budget expenditure stands at 5 billion 275 million 353 thousand 815 hryvnias.
Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych emphasised that the 2026 budget is effectively a survival budget and does not cover all the community’s needs. In particular, the Mykolaiv budget lacks funds for the pay rise for teachers initiated by the state.
Councillors also appealed to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers, demanding a pay rise for cultural workers. The document highlights the critically low level of pay in the cultural sector.
Instead, the government has raised the basic salary for cultural workers to 3,470 hryvnias. The Mykolaiv authorities have said they will look for funds in the budget to pay the supplements.
Apart from paying salaries, the city budget also lacks funds for routine and major road repairs, as stated by Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych. For example, the municipal enterprise «ELU Avtodorig» has received around 80 million hryvnias less than allocated in the budget.
Meanwhile, during a staff meeting on 2 March, Oleksii Savchuk, Director of the City Council’s Capital Construction Department, reported that there is currently no funding for repairs to the admissions ward of City Hospital №3.
«At present, no funding has been allocated for the admissions department of Hospital №3,» he noted.
Meanwhile, during the staff meeting on 2 March, Hennadii Iziumov, director of the municipal enterprise Mykolaivvodokanal, reported that the enterprise requires additional funds for road resurfacing work following the repair of potholes.
«We have over 560 orders for asphalting that have been pending since 2023. I wanted to discuss with you separately the possibility of additional funding to resolve these outstanding issues,» said Hennadii Iziumov.
Subsequently, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych stated that the Ministry of Finance would spend up to four months reviewing the state of the city budget to justify the need for additional funding from the state budget. The mayor noted that the city authorities had submitted updated revenue and expenditure estimates to the Ministry of Finance. According to him, budget revenues have increased slightly, in particular thanks to tax payments by residents and the mobilisation of extra-budgetary funds. However, this is insufficient to cover rising expenditure.
Execution of the 2025 budget by departments of the Mykolaiv City Council
- Executive Committee: cash expenditure — 1.2 billion hryvnias, which is 87.9% of the annual plan;
- Department of Education: cash expenditure — 2.3 billion hryvnias, which is 95.6% of the annual plan;
- Health Department: cash expenditure — 253 million hryvnias, representing 98.8%;
- Department of Labour and Social Protection: cash expenditure — 350.5 million hryvnias, representing 98.8%;
- Department of Culture and Cultural Heritage: cash expenditure — 221 million hryvnias, representing 98.6%;
- Sports Department: cash expenditure of 195.8 million hryvnias, representing 99.4% of the annual plan;
- Department of Housing and Communal Services: spent 1.4 billion hryvnias, which amounts to 86.1% of the annual plan;
- Department of Energy and Energy Saving: spent 57.5 million hryvnias, which amounted to 92.8% of the plan;
- Capital Construction Department: cash expenditure — 142.7 million hryvnias, which amounted to 60.7% of the annual budget;
- State Architectural and Construction Control Office: spent 10.4 million hryvnias, which amounted to 96% of the annual plan;
- Department of Emergency Situations and Civil Protection: spent 96.4 million hryvnias, which amounted to 88% of the annual plan;
- Department of Municipal Property: spent 9.2 million hryvnias, which is 99.6% of the department’s total budget;
- Department for the Provision of Administrative Services: spent 40.8 million hryvnias, accounting for 99.8% of the department’s budget;
- Department of Finance: spent 22.6 million hryvnias, which is 56.6% of the annual plan;
- Department of Internal Financial Control, Supervision and Anti-Corruption: spent 12 million hryvnias, which amounted to 88.8% of the annual plan;
- Zavodskyi District Administration: spent 87.8 million hryvnias, which accounted for 99.7% of their annual budget;
- Korabelnyi District Administration: spent 88.3 million hryvnias, which amounted to 99.7% of the annual budget;
- Inhulskyi District Administration: spent 94 million hryvnias, which amounted to 97.9% of the annual budget;
- The Central District Administration: spent 93.4 million hryvnias, which amounted to 99.6% of the annual budget.
Earlier, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych stated that Mykolaiv’s remaining budget funds at the end of 2025 amounted to around 300 million hryvnias, which is «the lowest figure in recent years».
Read the article by NikVesti: «Educational losses in Mykolaiv’s schools: how the war, anxiety and distance learning have affected children’s education».