The Capital has a budget: 7.8 billion lei for the mayor's office still led by Nicuşor Dan

The capital has a budget for the current year, after on Friday the project proposed for the fourth time by Mayor General Nicuşor Dan passed the General Council of the Municipality of Bucharest with 51 votes for, 0 abstentions and 0 votes against, after including in it the amendments formulated by the PSD-PNL coalition. In the first three previous meetings, the budget project failed due to PSD and PNL councilors, who were either absent or voted against. Last Friday, however, all political groups voted for the Capital's budget, but USR councilors accused the fact that due to the attitude of those in the governing coalition, certain payments, including in the social field, will be made later.

It is certain that the General City Hall of the Municipality of Bucharest has a budget of 7.8 billion lei for the year 2024, the largest amounts being allocated for investments in transport, fuels, energy and in the field of environmental protection. Most of the money (73.3%) comes from revenues collected directly by the town hall in the local budget, and the budgeted expenses are equal to the total revenues.

The revenues of the local budget of Bucharest City Hall are divided as follows: current revenues in the amount of 6.21 billion, capital revenues in the amount of 4.31 million lei, financial operations in the amount of 201.5 million lei and subsidies of 988.13 million lei.

The 2024 budget records an 18% decrease in tax revenues, compared to the previous year's execution. From the non-tax revenues, the City Hall estimates that it will collect 1.05 billion lei, 877 million more than the non-tax revenues collected until the end of 2023.

The subsidies received by PMB in 2024 amount to 988 million lei, of which the largest part is represented by subsidies from the state budget (780 million lei, respectively 78.95% of the total subsidies). Most of the money is for the refurbishment of the thermal and electric heating plants, i.e. more than 255 million lei.

The expenses are of three types: current expenses - 5.47 billion lei (9% less compared to 2023), capital expenses - 1.75 billion lei (an amount 1.52 billion lei higher compared to last year) and financial operations in the amount of 391.9 million lei.

Most of the money of the current expenditure section is allocated to subsidies (more than 38% of the total).

The General City Hall of the Municipality of Bucharest has scheduled in 2024 expenses worth over 1.55 billion lei for investments. 90% of the money comes from the local budget, and the rest from external loans. The largest amounts are allocated for investments in the field of transport (698.5 million lei), fuels and energy (534.38 million lei) and in the field of environmental protection (180.57 million lei).

In the field of energy, the largest investment, 228.71 million lei, represents the continuation of the rehabilitation project of the heating system of the municipality of Bucharest. 151.5 million lei are allocated for new investment projects. The largest amount is for the modernization of five heating mains, with a budget of 120.48 million lei.

The field of thermal power plants is also the sector in which the PSD and PNL general councilors formulated the amendment that was approved on Friday. Thus, according to the Capital's budget for the year 2024 voted at the end of last week, 240 million lei were additionally allocated, at the initiative of PSD and PNL, for the heating subsidy. In addition to the addition of this subsidy, the subsidy for public transport was supplemented by 200 million lei and by 150 million lei the amount initially allocated for the partial payment of arrears in support for adults with disabilities.

The general councilors also wanted the allocation of 25 million lei for the Food Bank project, 25 million lei for the unlocking of the social block in Prelungirea Ghencea and the allocation of some amounts for the Penetration Ciurel - Autostrada A1 - Pod Ciurel project.

The addition of the respective allocations led to a decrease in the amounts that some educational and cultural projects in the Capital would benefit from. Thus, the Proedus budget was reduced by 25 million lei, the ARCUB budget was reduced by 17 million lei, the ALPAB budget recorded a decrease of 20 million lei, and the Creart budget was reduced by 13 million lei. The budget of the Streets Administration was reduced by 30 million lei, of which 14.5 million lei should have gone to the project "Pedestrian crossing road signs equipped with LED lamps powered by photovoltaic panels including poles". The Municipal Administration for the Consolidation of Buildings with Seismic Risk also lost 20 million lei from the initial allocation, while the budget of the General Directorate of Social Assistance was increased by 200 million lei.

The Capital's budget approved last Friday also included a loan of 258 million lei, which the General City Hall is to contract.

Immediately after the approval of the budget, the general councilors of the PSD and the PNL said in a joint press release: "We managed to get Bucharest out of the deadlock in which it was led by the general mayor. The project approved today directs the Capital City Hall's money to serious projects, not to the events that the general mayor was preparing for his election campaign. The social-democratic and liberal general councilors showed at the meeting called today that there is a responsible majority in the General Council of the Municipality of Bucharest, and the general mayor Nicuşor Dan can no longer ignore the requests of the citizens of Bucharest. Despite the mayor general's unrealistic statements, we found the necessary sums to pay the arrears of the stimulus for adults with disabilities, cut in half by Nicuşor Dan's wish. We supplemented the amounts for the payment of the subsidy for heating and public transport. We are also continuing the Food Bank project and the construction of the social block in Prelungirea Ghencea".

They claim that, immediately after the approval of the budget for the year 2024, the projects of the mayors in the Capital's sectors will be unblocked, projects that would have been kept in the drawer by the general mayor Nicuşor Dan.