Tartu’s city government has approved a EUR 212.8-million budget for 2022. Education features prominently, while Estonia’s second city is also seeing investment in infrastructure and in preparations for its stint as European culture capital in 2024.
The budget is slightly down on 2021’s figure of EUR 215 million.
Total investments come to EUR 33.6 million, with education, culture and the living environment being the most significant areas.
Council chairman Tonis Lukas (Isamaa) said: “Of strategic processes, the transition of kindergartens and schools that are still Russian-medium to Estonian as the language of learning will start with the support of the budget, and support for the green transition and for innovative enterprises in creating jobs will continue,” adding that kindergarten fees would not be raised, while education facilities as a whole would receive investment, as would city infrastructure.
Tartu’s operating income is budgeted at EUR 181.3 million for 2022, up by 6.6%, with personal income tax the largest single component at EUR 105 million.
The city’s operating expenses come to EUR 167.8 million in the budget – over half of this, EUR 94.6 million, consists of educational expenses.
Tartu’s investment income is budgeted at EUR 8.5 million and expenses at EUR 34.2 million.
The city is to borrow EUR 5.3 million to finance new investments, while the city’s net debt will remain at 54% at the end of next year.
A EUR 750,000-reserve has been set aside for combating the spread of Covid.
Education investment in the university town is budgeted at EUR 15.2 million, with culture only slightly lower at EUR 1.5 million.
Tartu is the European Capital of Culture in 2024; EUR 1.5 million has been earmarked for this, including for marketing locally and internationally.
EUR 11.3 million will go on street and road improvement and work on cycle lanes and pedestrian thoroughfares.
The size of the budget of Tartu for 2021 stood at EUR 215 million when approved, while a supplementary budget of EUR 13 million approved in July could be added to this.
The capital’s budget was passed on December 20, and is valued at just over a billion, while the EUR 13.633 billion (expenditures) / EUR 13.132 billion (revenue) state budget passed earlier this month.
Opposition parties have criticized the level and nature of investments contained in the budget.
Silver Kuusik, chairmsn of the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) at Tartu city council chambers, says labor costs estimated at EUR 34 million for 2022 might turn out to cost double, meaning the city government could take out a loan of EUR 32 million.
Kuusik said: “The inflation rate is 7% to 8% and the interest rate is 0.7%, meaning it is clear that it is a good time to take a loan.”
Kuusik’s party wants to build a new school building in the Annelinn district, at a cost of EUR 20 million, adding that demographic flight of around 10,000 taxpayers out of Tartu to surrounding municipalities, over the past decade, is evidence of the mismanagement of the city.
Tartu deputy mayor Priit Humal (Isamaa) rejected the idea of a loan, saying it would not be viable to take out, nor would it solve the issues.
“It’s not enough to put this one figure in the budget and then the schools will be put right. There are many other aspects that need to be taken into account,” he said.
Meanwhile Eesti 200, also in opposition in Tartu, said that entries in the budget did not tally with the claimed main objectives.
Partel Piirimae, who sits on Tartu city government’s economic affairs committee, said: “The very first point being emphasized is that we want to develop pedestrian and light traffic roads, whereas in fact, there are no funds in the budget next year to build one kilometer of cycle paths in the city center.”
Humal said that more indeed needed to be invested: “If we compare in the long run how the budget has grown with inflation, the budget has followed a single trend. The volume of investments has not caught up with this,” adding that state subsidies to the city of Tartu had fallen so much that it was difficult to now boost the volume of investments. (ERR/Business World Magazine)