Regional centers of southern Ukraine plan to raise 20 billion in 2025

Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson adopted decisions on city budgets totaling UAH 19.9 billion by the end of the year.

According to the analysts of the Civil Partnership "For Transparent Local Budgets!", Odesa was the leader in the south, and it also closes the top five of the largest budgets planned for 2025 in Ukraine.

At its session on December 4, Odesa City Council planned to raise more than UAH 12 billion. Mykolaiv and Kherson's plans are much more modest: Mykolaiv 's budget revenues are planned to reach UAH 5.4 billion in 2025 and Kherson 's - UAH 2.5 billion.

In addition to Odesa, the cities of Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Lviv have planned budgets of more than UAH 10 billion next year. Sieverskodonetsk has the smallest budget - about 500 million.

According to the partnership's experts, Mykolaiv held budget hearings to discuss the draft budget for 2025 in the format of a video conference, which was broadcast on the Youtube channel of the Mykolaiv City Council. The minutes of the budget hearings were also published on the website.

Despite the difficult situation, local authorities continue to adapt their budget processes, focusing on priorities that meet the requirements of the times and taking into account the needs of defense, humanitarian aid, and infrastructure restoration. The practice of engaging citizens in budget discussions through online consultations, public hearings, and electronic platforms is an important step towards ensuring transparency and efficiency in the use of budget funds.

However, not all cities were able to approve their budgets in a timely manner or effectively engage the community in discussions, which indicates certain challenges in managing local finances during the war. Some communities, in particular those with military administrations, face difficulties in ensuring full transparency and engagement of citizens in the process, which may affect the level of trust and support from the population.

Кирило Бойко