The mayor of Debrecen called this year’s budget full of challenges, but at the same time full of opportunities, at the press conference presenting the draft on Thursday.
This year’s budget will be presented to the General Assembly with a total of HUF 181.69 billion, 1.64 percent less than last year’s, although it could exceed HUF 200 billion with the resources coming in during the year, László Papp (Fidesz-KDNP) announced.
He emphasized that after two years, the city will take out a loan in the amount of HUF 2.5 billion, of which approximately HUF 1.6 billion will be used for a specific investment.
He elaborated: in addition to a total investment of HUF 52.62 billion, local tax revenue of HUF 27.23 billion is expected, which is 28 percent more than a year earlier.
The 50 percent tax discount provided to small businesses will be phased out this year, the mayor announced.
He said that the main investment amount is significantly smaller compared to the previous year because the larger investments have ended, and they cannot count on EU subsidies for the time being.
He also informed that the total expenditure of the operating budget will increase from HUF 61.88 billion to HUF 89.25 billion this year, as the city has to count on an additional HUF 3.5 billion wage increase and a HUF 6.3 billion increase in energy prices due to inflation, among other things.
László Papp reported that the budget focuses on four major areas: economic development, transport development, environmental protection and health development.
The city allocates HUF 20 billion for economic development: most of the money will be spent on the development of two large economic zones; most of the HUF 9.2 billion for transport development is spent on the construction of the Sas utca underground garage; from the 1.7 billion budget for environmental protection, a significant amount will also be allocated to the restart of the panel program and the continuation of protective afforestation; the city is launching health screening programs together with the clinic and the Debrecen Health Development and Primary Care Institute.
New nurseries are also established and several buildings are modernized; the renovation of the old people’s home in Pallagi út continues, and the gymnasium of the Epreskert Primary School can also be built. As part of the cultural developments, the Csokonai Theater can be handed over to the city company in the summer, the mayor announced.
The details of the draft budget will be presented by the deputy mayors supervising the specialized areas in the coming days, and the city’s general assembly will decide on the adoption of the budget on February 23.
MTI
