Sienkevych urgently convenes a session of the Mykolaiv City Council — there is only enough money left to provide meals in nurseries for two days

In two days’ time, Mykolaiv may run out of funds to provide meals for nursery school children. Photo: NikVesti

Funds to provide meals for children in Mykolaiv’s nurseries will only last until 8 July. If the city cannot find an additional 60 million hryvnias, the city council may convene an extraordinary session to amend the budget.

This came to light during a staff meeting at Mykolaiv City Council on 6 July, according to NikVesti.

During the discussion, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych pointed out that the funds allocated by the government to the Mykolaiv region are intended exclusively for schools, as meals in nurseries and vocational education institutions must be funded from the local authority’s budget.

«The funds allocated to the Mykolaiv region are intended solely for general secondary education institutions. In other words, they do not cover pre-school education. What is our plan? What are we doing?» asked the mayor.

Hanna Lychko, head of the education department, explained that the city had been counting on receiving additional funding.

«The only thing that can save us is if we are allocated additional funds. The amount we were expecting under the agreement was 60 million hryvnias. These funds were supposed to last until the end of October,» she said.

After this, Oleksandr Sienkevych asked the director of the finance department, Vira Sviatelyk, to report whether the city had any budget surplus that could be channelled towards school meals.

Vira Sviatelyk, Director of the Finance Department, reported that as of 1 July, the city budget was 3 per cent under-spent, or approximately 61 million hryvnias.

«It is precisely the money we need extra that we are short of,» commented Oleksandr Sienkevych.

When asked by the mayor what this might lead to, Hanna Lychko replied that the city would be unable to provide meals for all children in nurseries. She pointed out that meals in pre-school institutions are fully funded from the city budget. Furthermore, 71 per cent of the children belong to categories entitled to concessions and do not pay for their meals.

During the meeting, Sienkevych asked by when the city would need to secure additional funding.

«8 July. The day after tomorrow we will run out of money,» replied Hanna Lychko.

As is known, in June the executive committee of the Mykolaiv City Council reallocated 864,500 hryvnias for meals in nurseries. At the time, the city council noted that these funds would only last until the end of the summer, after which the city council would seek additional funding.

The mayor asked whether the necessary funds could be allocated without holding a city council session. Vira Sviatelyk explained that the executive committee can only reallocate funds within the limits of specific budget allocations, and even that would not be enough.

According to Hanna Lychko, even if part of the necessary funds could be found, it would not help, as the full amount — 60 million hryvnias — must be provided immediately in order to register the contract with the State Treasury Service.

«We cannot register the contract without the full amount. We do not have the full amount,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

The mayor also stated that the city authorities had warned the central government about potential financial problems as early as the end of last year.

«We were aware of this situation as far back as December last year and wrote to the Cabinet of Ministers, the Prime Minister and the Verkhovna Rada. The issue remains unresolved; we are not receiving any help,» he said.

According to Oleksandr Sienkevych, the problem arose due to the loss of a significant portion of the city budget’s revenue, particularly following the withdrawal of the military personal income tax. He emphasised that the current focus is on funding school meals, but in future the shortfall could affect other areas as well.

«Were the journalists looking for a scoop? Well, here it is. But we were already aware of this situation back in December last year. We wrote to the Cabinet of Ministers, the Prime Minister and the Verkhovna Rada. The issue remains unresolved; we are not receiving any help. And most importantly, today this issue concerns school meals. Tomorrow it will affect transport, water supply and other areas of life in Mykolaiv. In total, we are talking about a sum of around 1 billion hryvnias,» the mayor noted.

At present, the city authorities are considering the possibility of reallocating funds between the main budget administrators, in particular by drawing on other planned expenditure. If the necessary sum can be found, the mayor plans to convene an extraordinary session of the city council to amend the budget.

«Other main budget administrators will have to cut back on some of what we had planned in the 2026 budget. This may include public investment, of which we have only 300 million hryvnias, and most of which consists of co-funding for state programmes. Please provide information on how the budget is being implemented by the various main budget spenders, and we will make a decision. If the situation is that critical, we will convene an extraordinary session,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

Earlier, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine had refused Mykolaiv’s request for 150 million hryvnias to organise catering in educational institutions. The ministry explained that these expenditure items for nurseries and vocational education institutions should be funded from the local authority budget, and also drew attention to the growth in the city’s budget revenue.

It should be recalled that six months ago, Mykolaiv City Council appealed to the government and the Verkhovna Rada requesting an additional grant from the state budget for the city. According to the city authorities’ estimates, the city’s own budget revenue for 2026 covers only 82.5 per cent of actual needs, whilst the funding shortfall exceeds 1.14 billion hryvnias.

Back at the start of the year, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych reported that the Ministry of Finance would analyse Mykolaiv’s financial situation to assess the city’s need for additional funding. At the same time, he emphasised that the final decision depends not only on the Ministry of Finance’s calculations but also on the political will of parliament.

According to the mayor, the city has not yet received an official response to its request. During Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko’s most recent visit to Mykolaiv, he raised this issue once again. According to Oleksandr Sienkevych, the request was forwarded to the Ministry of Finance, which is continuing to analyse the city’s budget.

Due to the lack of additional funding, the city is already preparing to reallocate its own funds. In particular, this concerns providing free meals for children in schools and nurseries.

«We will have to see where we can free up and reallocate funds for children’s meals. But this is a critical situation. No matter how much we reallocate, it won’t create any more money. By the end of the year, there will be nothing left,» concluded Oleksandr Sienkevych.

Earlier, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych stated that Mykolaiv’s budget for 2026 is a «survival budget» and does not cover all the community’s needs. According to him, the city lacks the funds to implement the state-initiated pay rise for teachers, to pay for utilities, to repair roads and to cover other expenses.