«The situation is complicated», — Falko advocates for staff cuts at Mykolaiv City Council

Dmytro Falko, Secretary of the Mykolaiv City Council, believes that the council’s staff must be reduced, as the budgetary situation «remains difficult».

He spoke about this in a comment to NikVesti following the city council session held on 27 March.

As is known, Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, recently stated that the administration plans to cut around 22% of its staff due to a budget deficit. According to him, although the state has allocated more funds than last year, the increase in salaries for public sector workers has led to a shortage of funds, both in the region and in most local authorities. Therefore, they are now planning cuts and reductions in bonuses.

«Let’s say, this isn’t just a matter of cuts. It’s about optimising the structure of the executive bodies. In general, in keeping with, as they say, the spirit of the times, we need to reform many departments: adding functions to some, and removing some functions from others,» replied Dmytro Falko.

Dmytro Falko, member of the Mykolaiv City Council (Propozytsia faction), screenshot from the YouTube channel NikVesti

Furthermore, he said that in some departments, the number of staff will actually increase.

«Indeed, some of our departments and structural units need to be downsized, as they are under-utilised and have vacant posts. At the same time, other functions, such as the registration of conscripts, mobilisation work and so on, are entrusted to local authorities in accordance with the law. Consequently, the number of staff in some departments will actually increase. However, the budgetary situation remains difficult, so reorganisation and, consequently, staff cuts are necessary,» added Dmytro Falko.

There is a shortfall in Mykolaiv’s budget. What is known?

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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 Sienkevych. 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.

Recently, on 26 March, city councillors approved amendments to the city budget and allocated surplus funds.

According to the city council, expenditure has increased by 735.6 million hryvnias through subsidies and surplus funds from 2025 (317 million hryvnias), as well as public investment (300 million hryvnias).

The changes will affect almost all areas of the city:

• education (+201.3 million hryvnias) — additional payments to teachers (state subvention) — 125.3 million hryvnias: meals for primary school pupils and refurbishment of school canteens, support for children with special educational needs;
• housing and communal services (+220.3 million hryvnias);
• support for utility companies (water and heating supply) — 260.2 million hryvnias (taking into account internal reallocations);
• implementation of the HOPE project — 139.7 million hryvnias;
• transport and infrastructure: a loan from the EIB to improve public transport — 135.4 million hryvnias;
• security and civil protection (+22.1 million hryvnias): measures to prevent and respond to emergencies.

District administrations received additional funding for the implementation of local projects:

• Central District: +43.2 million hryvnias;
• Zavodskyi District: +38.1 million hryvnias;
• Korabelnyi District: +35.1 million hryvnias;
• Inhulskyi District: +34.5 million hryvnias.